COMMISSION 27 OF THE I. A. U.
         INFORMATION BULLETIN ON VARIABLE STARS
                     Number 1608

                                  Konkoly Observatory
                                  Budapest
                                  1979 May 18



         PREDISCOVERY LIGHTCURVE OF NOVALIKE
            OBJECT KUWANO IN VULPECULA




Sonneberg Sky Patrol plates, taken by H. Huth, show that the
rise to maximum of this object, which was discovered by Kuwano
at 20h19.0m+21d25' (1950) (IAUC 3344), was well underway in the
spring of 1978 already. The following estimates could be  made
on the exposures mentioned :

Date         J.D.
1978 UT      244...    m_pg      m_pv

March 8.13   3575.63   >14.0m   >13.0m
April 7.08   3605.58   13.5     >12.5
July 27.91   3717.41   -        >11.0 poor plate
July 30.97   3720.47   11.4     11.2
Aug. 6.90    3727.40   -        >10.0 poor plate
Aug.28.89    3749.39   11.1     10.6
Oct. 7.86    3789.36   10.2     9.9
Nov. 1.77    3814.27   -        10.2
Dec. 4.72    3847.22   -        9.55

(> means: invisible fainter than)

Comparison stars  B         V      Reference

HDE 351704       9.4m      9.3m    Die Sterne 43,21
HDE 351584      10.0       9.8            "
USNO 17569      11.2      10.8     Hoag Catalogue

The Tri-X brightness of 10m on 1978 Aug.21.52 UT of Honda
(IAUC 3348) fits to our series.
By comparing the two overlapping fields 276 and 1608 of the POSS
at the given position a variable object can easily be identified
which with high probability is the pre-outburst phase of the star.




                             W. WENZEL
                        Sternwarte Sonneberg
                  Zentralinstitut fur Astrophysik
                 Akademie der Wissenschaften der DDR