We study the long-term, S Dor-type variability and the present hot phase of the luminous blue variable (LBV) star GR 290 (Romano’s Star) in M 33 in order to investigate possible links between the LBV and the late, nitrogen sequence Wolf–Rayet Stars (WNL) stages of very massive stars. We use intermediate-resolution spectra, obtained with the William Herschel Telescope (WHT) in 2008 December, when GR 290 was at minimum (V = ∼18.6), as well as new low-resolution spectra and BVRI photometry obtained with the Loiano and Cima Ekar telescopes during 2007–2010.
Rob Matson located PHO 2003 KN18 as the trail in this Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2) scan of a 3 May 1989 plate from the 1.2m U.K. Schmidt Telescope at Siding Spring, and he was accessing SkyMorph to work the next predicted position when the service went down. By the time he could get back, the 3 and 8 May 1989 positions had already been reported in yesterday's Daily Orbit Update MPEC.
This work was coded to Fabio Anzellini of the Associazione Romana Astrofili (ARA), whose membership includes several archive sleuths. All this followed Sunday's announcement of 2003 KN18's recovery (news),…
The Plaskett telescope is the largest telescope in the world that is used in a regular program of near-Earth object (NEO) follow-up astrometry, and the telescope is able to detect these objects long after they have faded from the grasp of other observers. Without this work, many of the near-Earth objects would be permanently lost.
The aim of the program is to provide rapid astrometric data for all newly-discovered objects that manifest unusual plane-of-sky motion and could be in close proximity to the Earth-Moon system. In addition, time is allocated for systematic observation of…
