COMMISSION 27 OF THE I. A. U.
          INFORMATION BULLETIN ON VARIABLE STARS
                      Number 1389

                                   Konkoly Observatory
                                   Budapest
                                   1978 February 22




        A SUSPECTED SYMBIOTIC STAR IN THE REGION
           OF THE SMALL MAGELLANIC CLOUD



   On a low-dispersion Kodak IIa-O objective-prism plate, taken with the
Curtis Schmidt telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory on
July 14, 1967, the star Henize S18 = Lindsay 250 (A.J. 66, 169, 1961) shows
only Balmer series emission visible to Hepsilon. On a Kodak IIIa-J plate, taken
with the same instrument on Sept. 17, 1977, the hydrogen lines appear as
before and the star seems unchanged in brightness but HeII lambda4686 emerges with
a strength nearly equal to that of Hbeta. Nebular lines are not detected at
either epoch. The marked variability in HeII lambda4686 suggests that this is
a symbiotic object. However, symbiotic stars are usually thought to involve
a late-type giant, whereas this star, if it is an SMC member, would have the
luminosity of a supergiant. On the other hand, VV Cephei systems do contain
supergiants but do not display high-excitation emission features.

   Unfortunately, on a very deep IIIa-J plate, taken on Jan. 7, 1975, the
spectrum is over-exposed and unclassifiable but a strong ultraviolet continuum
is present extending to lambda3300. The multi-color photometry of Lindsay (see
above) would, therefore, indicate a composite spectrum. The late-type 
component might be G or K-type since TiO bands are not observed on red and infrared
objective-prism plates also taken in 1967. W.P. Bidelman has noted that, if
by chance this were a foreground star, it might have properties similar to the
peculiar high galactic latitude star AG Dra (Ap.J. 117, 467, 1953). Clearly,
a radial velocity determination and higher dispersion spectroscopic data are
urgently needed in order to resolve this apparent anomaly.





                            N. SANDULEAK

                        Warner and Swasey Observatory
                        E. Cleveland, OH 44112, U.S.A.