Alert Notice 779: Recurrent nova U Sco in surprise eruption needs long time series for the next month

Active Dates: June 7, 2022 – Aug. 11, 2022


Abstract:

The recurrent nova U Sco is undergoing an eruption. The eruption was discovered by Masayuki Moriyama, who observed U Sco at <17.3 C on June 6.56664 UT and then at 11.4 C on June 6.72030. Confirmation was reported by numerous observers from several countries within a very short time. U Sco continued to brighten rapidly and reached a maximum magnitude of ~7.8 V on June 7.1 UT and by June 7.92 UT it is visual magnitude ~9.0. The eruption is expected to proceed until around 11 August.

Justification:

Coverage is requested from AAVSO observers to capture the fast and dynamic changes in U Sco's light curve during the eruption. This includes long time series photometry to capture critical and mysterious fine structure, and to observe new phenomena such as randomly placed hours-long flares and light curve dips seen only late in the tail of the eruption.

Requested Data Types:

Photometry, Spectroscopy



Targets
Name Magnitude Variability Type Photometry Notes Spectroscopy Notes
U Sco 7.50 NR+E

Cadence: Not Specified

Precision: 100

Cadence: Not Specified

Resolution: 250

Desired SNR: 100


Spectroscopy Lines:

No spectroscopy lines provided

Photometry Filters:

No photometry filters provided

Comparison Stars:

No comparison stars provided


Co-Authorship

Observers are not eligible for co-authorship.

Additional Observer Input:

Not provided

Additional Submission Location:

Not provided


Forum URL

N/A


Notes:

Principal Investigator: Brad Schaefer; Imported Campaign (Alert Notice #779)