COMMISSION 27 OF THE I. A. U.
           INFORMATION BULLETIN ON VARIABLE STARS
                        Number 2748

                                     Konkoly Observatory
                                     Budapest
                                     17 June 1985

                                     HU ISSN 0374 - 0676




    CONTACT TIMES FOR THE 1982-4 ECLIPSE OF EPSILON AURIGAE


  Photoelectric UBV measurements of Epsilon Aurigae have been
obtained during the past three observing seasons with the Hopkins
Phoenix Observatory 20-cm telescope and during the 1982-3 and
1983-4 seasons with the Tjornisland Astronomical Observatory
36-cm telescope. Using the extensive V-filter dataset shown in
Figure 1, contact times are derived for the system's recent
eclipse.


  The times are calculated by extrapolating a linear fit of
ingress and egress data to the mean in- and out-of-eclipse light
levels (for details, see Schmidtke 1985). The derived contact
times are labeled on Figure 1 and summarized in Table I.
Included in the table are the predicted times given by
Gyldenkerne (1970), based primarily on photometry of the 1955-7
eclipse. Third contact during the recent eclipse is considerably
delayed with respect to the other contact times as noted by Oki
(1984) and Boyd (1984), yielding a longer totality and more rapid
egress than observed during past eclipses. Whether these
phenomena are due to real changes in the system's geometry or
just represent the superposition of the primary's intrinsic light
variations on a normal egress is unclear.


   Subject to these uncertainties, the contact times given here
must be regarded as provisional estimates. A more extensive
treatment of this dataset as well as other photometry contributed
to the Epsilon Aurigae 1982-4 Observing Campaign is in
preparation. Investigators are encouraged to continue their
monitoring of this system during the next observing season to
document the post-eclipse variations. UBV data summaries can be
sent to Hopkins Phoenix Observatory.


                        [FIGURE 1]

        Fig. 1. V-filter light curve of Epsilon Aurigae.


                          Table I
              Observed Time         Predicted Time
contact                             Date        JD
              Date        JD
1st           82 Jul 14   2445165   82 Jul 29   2445180
2nd           82 Nov 28   2445302   82 Dec 11   2445315
3rd           84 Feb 17   2445748   82 Jan 09   2445709
4th           84 Apr 21   2445812   82 May 29   2445850


PAUL C. SCHMIDTKE                     JEFFREY L. HOPKINS

Department of Physics                 Hopkins Phoenix Observatory
Arizona State University              7812 West Clayton Drive
Tempe, Arizona 85287 USA              Phoenix, Arizona 85033 USA


STIG I. INGVARSSON                    ROBERT E. STENCEL

Tjornisland Astronomical Observatory  Astrophysics Division
Glashed 302                           NASA Headquarters
S-440 60 Skarhamn SWEDEN              Washington, DC 20546 USA

References:

Boyd, L.J., Genet, R.M., and Hall, D.S. 1984, I.B.V.S. No. 2562.
Gyldenkerne, K. 1970, in Vistas in Astronomy, Vol. 2, edited by Arthur 
  Beer, p. 199. [BIBCODE 1970VA.....12..199G ]
Oki, T., Sekiya, I., and Hirayama, K. 1984, I.B.V.S. No. 2496.
Schmidtke, P.C., 1985, in Epsilon Aurigae Campaign Newsletter No. 13, edited by
  Jeffrey L. Hopkins and Robert E. Stencel, p. 17.