COMMISSION 27 OF THE I. A. U.
                   INFORMATION BULLETIN ON VARIABLE STARS
                                Number 2483

                                                       Konkoly Observatory
                                                       Budapest
                                                       29 February 1984

                                                       HU ISSN 0374 - 0676



                   FO And - PROBABLY A NEW MEMBER OF THE

                     SU UMa SUB-GROUP OF DWARF NOVAE



The SU UMa type dwarf novae are characterized by ultra-short orbital periods, 
two types of outbursts (normal ones and supermaxima) whose widths differ 
by more than a factor 5, and short cycle lengths of normal eruptions
compared with those of supermaxima (Vogt, Astrophys., 88, 66-76,
1980). 
On  257 plates of the field beta And taken with the Sonneberg 40 cm astrographs
from 1964 to 1984, FO And shows short eruptions  of cycle lengths  between 
15 and 23 days and widths between 1 and 2 days. In the intervals
JD 243  9051 ... 9063 and 244  5225 ... 5238 I observed 2 well-defined 
supermaxima. On Sonneberg sky patrol plates I observed a further supermaximum on
JD 243 9801 ... 9803.


                           [FIGURE 1]


  The brightness during the supermaxima is about 13.8 m_pg, in the minimum
the star varies between  17.5 and 18.0 m_pg. More  details will be given in a
forthcoming paper in Mitt. veranderl. Sterne.
    Photoelectric observations of FO And are very desirable.


                        L. MEINUNGER


                    Sonneberg Observatory of
                    Central Institute for Astrophysics
                    of Academy of Sciences of the GDR