[vsnet-alert 14559] Re: [VSS-members] AG Car Unsteady DeclineContinues

[Sebastián Otero]

Hi, Peter,

> The SDOR star AG Car has continued its irregular decline in recent months
> and based on my visual observations this star is currently near to its
> historically recorded minimum brightness based on the past 7 decades of 
> data
> as displayed by the AAVSO light curve generator.

Yes, I noticed this fading too and that is also approaching the faintest 
recorded magnitude.

The historical photometric minimum recorded was back in  with V= 8.11 on 
May, 1987.

It is really weird how different response eyes can have.
I add the magnitudes I measured for the same dates to see how we are up to 
1.2 mag. off !!!
I saw a 0.4 mag. fading while you observed a 1.4 mag. fading. Weird indeed!

I observe it with 7x50 binoculars that have a limiting magnitude around 8.5 
or so on average nights in Buenos Aires and I never had trouble observing AG 
Car even though it is fainter than normal.

> 2011
> Jan    7.56     7.44
> Feb    7.90    7.53
> Mar    7.67    7.63
> Apr    7.81     7.61
> May    7.94    7.63
> June   7.97     7.60
> July    8.15     7.59
> Aug    8.22
Sep -----------    7.58
Nov ----------    7.51
> Dec    7.73     7.52

> 2012
> Jan    7.77      7.52
> Feb    8.12     7.64
> Mar    9.00     7.76
> Apr    8.81      7.84
> May   9.00

My last observation was on April 18 due to bad weather and illness :( I hope 
I'll be able to observe it this weekend.

Cheers,
Sebastian

-------------------------
Sebastian Otero
VSX Team
American Association of Variable Star Observers