COMMISSION 27 OF THE I.A.U.
              INFORMATION BULLETIN ON VARIABLE STARS
                           Number 1286

                                                    Konkoly Observatory
                                                    Budapest
                                                    1977 May 30


       UBV PHOTOMETRY OF VV CEPHEI NEAR INGRESS

UBV photoelectric photometry was obtained of the eclipsing
binary star VV Cephei near the time of the beginning of primary
eclipse (Wright 1975; Spear 1976). The data were obtained at
the No. 4 0.4-m telescope of the Kitt Peak National Observatory
(KPNO). A pulse counting photometer, including a 1P21 photomultiplier 
and standard UBV filters (KPNO Nos: V, no. 232; B, no. 233;
U, no. 315; plus red leak sandwich), together with UBV standards
chosen from Johnson (1963) were used to place the observations
on the UBV photometric system.
   Data were acquired on four nights. The sixteen differential
observations are tabulated in Table I. The heliocentric Julian
Days are accurate to +-0.00005 day. The star 20 Cephei was used
as the comparison star. Its average magnitude and color indices,
from eight observations, were:

V = 5.268 +- 0.009; (B-V)= +1.420 +- 0.006; and (U-B)= +1.785 +- 0.006.

   The errors are probable errors of a single observation.
   The data in Table I indicate no change in V over the four
day interval. Little change occurred in (B-V) too. The (U-B) color
though was steadily becoming more red as the days passed.
   The author acknowledges with thanks the telescope time at
KPNO. This work was supported in part by National Science Foundation 
grant MPS 75-01890.


                     Table I

            UBV Observations of VV Cephei

       JDhel      DeltaV   Delta(B-V)  Delta(U-B)
    2443000.0+

    113.60080    -0.164    +0.532       -0.363
    113.60874    -0.163     0.535       -0.368
    113.66399    -0.161     0.542       -0.353
    113.67065    -0.168     0.559       -0.364
    113.73245    -0.165     0.544       -0.341
    113.73937    -0.174     0.549       -0.342
    114.59460    -0.156     0.561       -0,301
    114.60221    -0.159     0.580       -0.293
    115.59477    -0.162     0.564       -0.254
    115.60086    -0.164     0.564       -0.252
    115.65021    -0.164     0.557       -0.240
    115.65595    -0.166     0.565       -0.257
    115.73958    -0.166     0.552       -0.213
    115.74613    -0.160     0.559       -0.234
    116.58975    -0.170     0.563       -0.266
    116.59551    -0.165     0.562       -0.263


                            ARLO U. LANDOLT

                            Louisiana State University
                            Observatory
                            Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803
                            U.S.A.



References:

Johnson, H.L. 1963, in Basic Astronomical Data, edited by K. Aa. Strand
   (Chicago: University of Chicago Press), p. 204 [BIBCODE 1963bad..book..204J ]
Spear, G.G. 1976, IAU Circular No. 3006 [BIBCODE 1976IAUC.3006....2W ]
Wright, K.O. 1975, ibid. No. 2811 [BIBCODE 1975IAUC.2811....4W ]