YY CMi: contact or near contact system?

New V photoelectric observations of the eclipsing system YY CMi, obtained at La Silla, Chile, and Merate Observatory, Italy, are presented. New times of minima and ephemeris based on our observations are also given. The V light curve was analysed by using the WD code to derive the geometrical and physical parameters of the system. Since no spectroscopic mass ratio is available, the q-search method was applied to yield the preliminary range of the mass ratio in order to search for the final solution. First the unspotted solution was carried out by using the unperturbed parts of the light curve and applying the DC program of the WD code. The solution was performed by assuming contact (mode 3) and semi-detached (mode 4) configuration, since no classification of the system is possible from the shape of the light curve. The solution in mode 4 does not lead to an acceptable model, since the secondary was found to be slightly overcontact. Therefore the contact solution was finally adopted. Moreover the light curve peculiarities (Max II fainter than Max I and excess of light around the phase 0.32) were explained by assuming a cool and a hot spot on the surface of the secondary (cooler) component. The degree of contact is very small (f about 3%) and the thermal contactis poor (T1-T2) about 650 K. These results together with the high photometric mass ratio q about 0.89 indicate that YY CMi is very probably a system at the beginning or the end of the contact phase.Comment: 7 pages, 7 ps figures. Accepted for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Supplement Serie

Period changes in six contact binaries: WZ And, V803 Aql, DF Hya, PY Lyr, FZ Ori, and AH Tau

Six contact binaries lacking a period analysis have been chosen to search for the presence of a third body. The O-C diagrams of these binaries were analyzed with the least-squares method by using all available times of minima. Ten new minima times, obtained from our observations, were included in the present research. The Light-Time Effect was adopted for the first time as the main cause for the detailed description of the long-term period changes. Third bodies were found with orbital periods from 49 up to 100 years, and eccentricities from 0.0 to 0.56 for the selected binaries. In one case (WZ And), a fourth-body LITE variation was also applied. The mass functions and the minimal masses of such bodies were also calculated and a possible angular separation and magnitude differences were discussed for a prospective interferometric discovery of these bodies.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures, 2009 New Astronomy 14, 12

The double-mode nature of the HADS star GSC 00144-03031 and the Petersen diagram of the class

The double--mode pulsation of GSC 00144-03031 has been detected when searching for COROT targets. A very large dataset composed of 4722 photometric measurements was collected at six observatories in Europe and America. There is no hint of the excitation of additional modes (down to 0.6 mmag) and therefore GSC 00144-03031 seems to be a pure double--mode pulsator, with a very short fundamental radial mode (P=84 min). From Stromgren photometry and evolutionary tracks it appears to be a Pop. I star with M=1.75 solar masses, located in the middle of the instability strip, close to the Zero--Age Main Sequence. We also discovered other new double--mode pulsators in the databases of large--scale projects: OGLE BW2_V142, OGLE BW1_V207, ASAS3 094303-1707.3, ASAS3 000116-6037.0, NSVS 3234596 and NSVS 3324715. An observational Petersen diagram is presented and explained by means of new models. A common sequence connecting Pop. I stars from the shortest to the longest periods is proposed and the spreads in the period ratios are ascribed to different metallicities (at the shortest periods) and to different masses (at the longest ones). The paper is based on data collected at S. Pedro Martir and Sierra Nevada Observatories and on the contributions from several amateur astronomers.Comment: 9 pages, 5 pages, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

A Photometric study of the near-contact system RU Ursae Minoris

The near-contact system RU UMi with an F0 primary and a K5 secondary was observed in U, B and V wavelengths in May and July 1998, as well as in March, May and July 1999. Six new observed times of minima are given and a new ephemeris is proposed. The basic parameters of the system extracted by our observations were used for spot modelling of the light curves. A simple spot distribution was determined, based on a model with one relatively small cool spot on the surface of the secondary. Absolute elements were calculated and the evolutionary status was determined. Our data favor a semi-detached configuration, with the secondary filling its inner Roche lobe; the primary must also be near the limits of its lobe

On the performance of GAIA on photometry of eclipsing binaries: The case of four near-contact and contact systems

The light curves of four eclipsing binaries (two near-contact and two contact) are analysed by means of light curve synthesis techniques to derive the geometric and photometric elements and the physical parameters of the systems. For the analysis we used ground based photometric observations and Hipparcos/Tycho photometric data, which mimic the photometric observations that should be obtained by GAIA, the approved Cornerstone 6 mission by ESA. The results are compared and the achievable precision of the basic stellar parameters derived by GAIA photometry is discussed

A photometric study of BH Cas

New CCD observations of the contact binary system BH Cas are presented in this paper. New times of minima and an ephemeris based on our observations are also given. Complete light curves obtained in the V, R and I filters have been analyzed with the Wilson-Devinney code to derive the geometrical and physical parameters of the system. The final solution leads to a contact configuration (f ≈ 21-22%). We have found that the photometric mass ratio differs from the spectroscopic one by about 13%, a discrepancy which is not uncommon for other W UMa systems. The absolute elements of the system are used to study its evolutionary status. The results show that BH Cas is a fairly evolved W-type W UMa system

YY canis minoris: Contact or near contact system?

New V photoelectric observations of the eclipsing system YY CMi, obtained at La Silla, Chile, and Merate Observatory, Italy, are presented. New times of minima and ephemeris based on our observations are also given. The V light curve was analysed by using the WD code to derive the geometrical and physical parameters of the system. Since no spectroscopic mass ratio is available, the q-search method was applied to yield the preliminary range of the mass ratio in order to search for the final solution. First the unspotted solution was carried out by using the unperturbed parts of the light curve and applying the DC program of the WD code. The solution was performed by assuming contact (mode 3) and semi-detached (mode 4) configuration, since no classification of the system is possible from the shape of the light curve. The solution in mode 4 does not lead to an acceptable model, since the secondary was found to be slightly overcontact. Therefore the contact solution was finally adopted. Moreover the light curve peculiarities (MaxII fainter than MaxI and excess of light around the phase 0.32) were explained by assuming a cool and a hot spot on the surface of the secondary (cooler) component. The degree of contact is very small (f approximate to 3%) and the thermal contact is poor (T-1 - T-2) approximate to 650 K. These results together with the high photometric mass ratio q approximate to 0.89 indicate that YY CMi is very probably a system at the beginning or the end of the contact phase

A photometric study of BH Cas

New CCD observations of the contact binary system BH Cas are presented in this paper. New times of minima and an ephemeris based on our observations are also given. Complete light curves obtained in the V, R and I filters have been analyzed with the Wilson-Devinney code to derive the geometrical and physical parameters of the system. The final solution leads to a contact configuration ($f \approx 21{-}22\%$). We have found that the photometric mass ratio differs from the spectroscopic one by about 13% , a discrepancy which is not uncommon for other W UMa systems. The absolute elements of the system are used to study its evolutionary status. The results show that BH Cas is a fairly evolved W-type W UMa system

The Argonautica Orphica version of the voyage of the Argonauts: a geo-analysis

This study traces and analyzes the itinerary followed by Argo and her crew, according to the unknown author of Argonautica Orphica: The voyage of the Argonauts from Iolcos to Colchis and their return following a different path, from Phasis River through central Europe to the Atlantic Ocean and then through the Mediterranean Sea. Conclusions are drawn about whether such a voyage could be possible in the remote antiquity and the \u201cproblematic\u201d points of the description are pointed out