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THE ASTRONOMER Electronic Circular No 1732      2002 Jan 11 11.41UT
Ed:Guy M Hurst, 16,Westminster Close, Kempshott Rise,  Basingstoke,
Hants, RG22 4PP,England.Telephone/FAX(01256)471074Int:+441256471074
INTERNET: GUY@TAHQ.DEMON.CO.UK             GMH at AST.STAR.RL.AC.UK
WORLD WIDE WEB                         http://www.theastronomer.org
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PECULIAR VARIABLE IN MONOCEROS
We are advised via the AAVSO of the discovery by Nicholas Brown,
Quinns Rocks, Australia, of a peculiar variable star of about
magnitude 10 in Monoceros on a photograph of 2002 Jan 6.6UT using
T-Max 400 film. His photograph of 2001 Dec 22 did not show this
object to a photographic limit of about magnitude 12.

Arto Oksanen and Juha Solonen, Nyrola Observatory, Finland have
derived the following position from an image of Jan 9.96UT when the
V magnitude was measured as 9.92 and B-V was +1.72:

RA 07h 04m 04.85s DEC -03 50' 51.1" (2000)

Aaron Price at AAVSO Headquarters has checked 71 Harvard plates
from 1930 Oct 19 - 1952 Jan 17 but found no candidate on limiting
magnitudes ranging from 11.5-13.5.

S.Kiyota, Japan advises that he measured the object on Jan 9.49 and
found V=10.10 and B=12.16. 

A number of reports on VSNET tentatively suggest a link with GSC
4822.39 (catalogued at about mag 15.5: editor) but this appears a
little uncertain as is the nature of this object. 

The star clearly needs close monitoring and we welcome further
images and magnitude estimates.

Guy M Hurst