V485 Cen outburst The dwarf nova V485 Cen is undergoing an outburst as reported by Rod Stubbings. The brightness and the outburst interval suggests a superoutburst. YYYYMMDD(UT) mag observer 20010313.451 <144 (R. Stubbings) 20010313.544 <148 (A. Pearce) 20010314.485 <144 (R. Stubbings) 20010315.460 <140 (R. Stubbings) 20010315.817 <153 (A. Pearce) 20010316.785 <153 (A. Pearce) 20010317.840 <150 (A. Pearce) 20010319.590 <144 (R. Stubbings) 20010321.483 <144 (R. Stubbings) 20010323.476 <144 (R. Stubbings) 20010326.435 <142 (R. Stubbings) 20010329.425 141 (R. Stubbings) 20010329.435 141 (R. Stubbings) V485 Cen is known to be a unique dwarf nova having an orbital period of 59 min, which is well below the "minimum period" of hydrogen-rich cataclysmic variables. For a reference, see Augusteijn et al. 1996, AsAp 311, 889. The object is very favorably situated in the midnight sky, we encourage long time-series photometric observations. Previous studies have confirmed the presence of superhumps, positive Pdot (in contrast to most SU UMa stars), and a rebrightening which is sometimes seen in short-period SU UMa systems. The present outburst (of proven to be a superoutburst) would provide a very excellent opportunity in studying this unique variable in unprecedented detail. The object is selected as one of the top-priority (southern) targets for the VSNET Collaboration team. See also http://vsnet.kusastro.kyoto-u.ac.jp/vsnet/DNe/v485cen.html Regards, VSNET Collaboration team