BViz Photometry of the RR Lyrae Star RU Ceti

Volume 50 number 1 (2022)

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Jadon Fickle

Department of Physics and Astronomy, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-2814; jadon.fickle@wsu.edu

Michael L Allen

Department of Physics and Astronomy, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-2814; mlfa@wsu.edu

Abstract

The RR Lyrae star RU Cet was observed between October 26 and November 23, 2020. The observations were taken in the B, V, ip, and zs filters, with the telescope images being analyzed using various aperture photometry methods. The period of variation for RU Cet was found to be 0.585 ± 0.020 day. Theoretical period-luminosity-metallicity relations in the V, ip, and zs filters were used to compute the distance. These distances were 1641 ± 77 parsecs in the V filter, 1621 ± 58 parsecs in the ip filter, and 1645 ± 48 parsecs in the zs filter, for a weighted average of 1636 ± 33 parsecs. The Gaia EDR3 value is 1699 +83 / –75 parsecs. The photometric distances are consistent with the parallax determination despite peculiar variations in RU Cet's light curve.