COMMISSION 27 OF THE I. A. U.
         INFORMATION BULLETIN ON VARIABLE STARS
                     Number 1963

                                    Konkoly Observatory
                                    Budapest
                                    1981 May 8

                                    HU ISSN 0374-0676


               IS AE Aur A VARIABLE STAR?


Among the 19 stars, listed by Blaauw (1961) as "runaway" stars
AE Aur is the only one for which photometric variability had
been reported. Schneller concluded that the star has an amplitude
of about 0.2m. Therefore, only photoelectrical measurements should
be used to discuss the light changes.
Photoelectrical observations had been reported by Schneller
(1936), Groeneveld (1944) and Kharitonov (1957). Eleven new 
observations by the authors during four evenings in the winter
1980/1981 have been made with the 75 cm telescope of the Wilhelm
Foerster Observatory Berlin, an 1P21 photomultiplier behind
GG13+BG12 filters for the B band and GG11 for the V band of the
UBV system. As comparison stars served 16 Aur, 19 Aur, SAO 057884
(for these stars the magnitudes and colours have been adopted
from Blanco et al. 1968), and SAO 057893 (V=6.63m, B-V=+0.22m).
Schneller's 35 measurements were made in comparison to lambda Aur in


                      Table

Author       Year     Result
Schneller    1936     Delta m = 0.857m +- 0.006m
Groeneveld   1944     Delta m_1= 0.026+- 0.015 lambda_eff = 495 nm
                      Delta m2=-0.052+- 0.019 lambda_eff 412 nm
Kharitonov   1957     Delta V = 0.921+- 0.005
                      Delta (P-V)=-0.101+- 0.006
this paper   1980     V = 6.055+- 0.008
             1981     (B-V)=+0.248+- 0.006


an instrumental system. Groeneveld's 4 observations were made
in comparison to BD+31d955 in a two colour instrumental system.
Kharitonov used 19 Aur as comparison for his 14 PV observations.
If we disregard only one of Schneller's observations, we find the
mean values and mean square errors of the table. As the mean
square errors of all reported observational runs are in the order
or even less then the observational accuracy, we conclude that
AE Aur is not a variable star.


                         U. HOPP, S. WITZIGMANN
                         Wilhelm Foerster Observatory
                         D 1000 Berlin 41, F.R.G.





References:
Blaauw, A.: 1961, Bull.Astron.Inst.Netherlands 15. 265 [BIBCODE 1961BAN....15..265B ]
Blanco, V.M., Demers, S., Douglass, G.G., Fitzgerald, M.P.:
        1968, Publ. US Naval Obs. Second S. Vol. XXI [BIBCODE 1968PUSNO..21....1B ]
Groeneveld, I.: 1944, Veroeff.Landessternwarte Heidelberg 14. 43 [BIBCODE 1947VeHei..14...43G ]
Kharitonov, A.V.: 1957, Variable Stars 12. 148 [BIBCODE 1957PZ.....12..148K ]
Schneller, H.: 1936, Kleinere Veroff.Sternwarte Berlin-Babelsberg
        17. 32