[vsnet-alert 2544] Re: Nova Mus 1998 fading (cont'd)

[Alon Retter <ar@astro.keele.ac.uk>]

On Thu, 21 Jan 1999, Taichi Kato wrote:

>   Nova Mus 1998 has been reported to be fading more rapidly than before.
> 
>   YYMMDD(UT)   mag  observer
>   981229.308   85r  (W. Liller (from IAUC))
>   990120.794   133  (A. Pearce)
> 

Dear vsneters,

Nova Mus 1998 is currently about 5 mag fainter than its maximum.
According to my experience from observations of a few young novae at
Wise Observatory, this is the perfect time to search for periodicities.
In fact only one recent nova (V723 Cas 1995) out of 7 failed to show
periodic variations. The common envelope phase has most probably finished,
and the nova is still relatively bright. Typical known orbital periods of
novae range between ~2hr - ~7hr, with a peak around 3-4 hr. I thus
strongly recommend southern observers to devote one night to it, and if a
possible period is found, to continue this program. The orbital period of
a nova is an important physical parameter, which may allow us to classify
it. After the nova returns to its quiescent state, it is usually too
faint for such a search from relatively small telescopes. In Addition,
some novae probably cross the thermal stability line during their
decline, and might turn into dwarf novae in the future.

I'll be happy to answer every question that may arise.

Alon Retter
Keele Uni.


For further reading, see for example:

Retter A., Leibowitz E.M., Ofek E.O., 1997, "Permanent Superhumps in
Nova V1974 Cygni 1992", MNRAS., 286, 745-756.

Retter A., Leibowitz E.M., Kovo-Kariti O., 1998, "Nova V1425 Aquilae 
1995 - The Early Appearance of Accretion Processes in An Intermediate
Polar Candidate", MNRAS., 293, 145-150.

Retter A., Leibowitz E.M., 1998, "Predicting the Future of Superhumps 
in Classical Nova Systems", MNRAS., 296, L37-L41.

Retter A., Naylor T., Leibowitz E.M., 1999, "Novae Crossing the Thermal 
Stability Line", in "Disk Instabilities in Close Binary Systems", 
eds. Mineshige S., Wheeler C., Universal Academy Press, in press.

Retter A., Leibowitz E.M., 1995, "V705 Cassiopea", I.A.U.C., 6234.

Lipkin Y., Retter A., Leibowitz E.M., 1998, "Nova Sagittarii 1998", 
I.A.U.C., 6963.

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