COMMISSION 27 OF THE I.A.U.
                INFORMATION BULLETIN ON VARIABLE STARS
                             Number 1262

                                                      Konkoly Observatory
                                                      Budapest
                                                      1977 April 8


HV 1707: A VARIABLE CARBON STAR IN THE SMALL MAGELLANIC CLOUD

On deep blue and red-sensitive objective-prism plates of
the Small Magellanic Cloud, taken with the Curtis Schmidt telescope 
at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, we recently
noted a 16th magnitude carbon star showing very strong H-alpha emission. 
This object appears as SMC nebula N60 in the catalog of
Henize (Ap. J. Suppl. 2, 315, 1956) and corresponds to no. 323 in
the catalog of Lindsay (A.J. 66, 169, 1961) where it is considered 
to be a probable planetary nebula. The Harvard X and Y coordinates 
given by these authors indicate that this star, undoubtedly, 
is HV 1707 and might be expected to be a long-period variable. 
It may have been near minimum light when observed by both
Henize and Lindsay and thus the apparent lack of a continuum gave
it a nebular appearance. We have provided an identification chart
for this interesting object which has an appropriate apparent
magnitude to be considered as a highly probable SMC member.


                                  N. SANDULEAK

                                  Warner and Swasey Observatory
                                  E. Cleveland, Ohio


                                  A.G.D. PHILIP

                                  Dudley Observatory
                                  Albany, New York


                      [FIGURE 1]