COMMISSION 27 OF THE I. A. U.
            INFORMATION BULLETIN ON VARIABLE STARS
                        Number 3063

                                         Konkoly Observatory
                                         Budapest
                                         11 August 1987

                                         HU ISSN 0374-0676


         McNAUGHT'S VARIABLE AT 7h23m -03d IS A MIRA STAR

  In The Astronomer 23, no. 276 R. McNaught reported on a very red variable
discovered by him at the position 7h23m12.60s -3d00' 21.5" (1950). In order to
put an end to the discussion on the nature of this object I checked the 
photovisual plates of the Sonneberg Sky Patrol of the years 1963 to 1987 mainly
taken by H. Huth, and a sample of earlier exposures.

The variable is a Mira star. 22 maxima have been found on that material and
led to the following elements:

            Max. = 243 2918 + 377.5d * E.


On the patrol plates the object merges with a neighbouring 11.5 mag. uncoloured
star, which is easily separated on the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey and on
our longer focus exposures. Visual observes should however not confuse both
stars (separation 0.3', the variable is the southern star and also pay 
attention to the bright cool carbon star BD -2d 2101 which precedes by 0.5 min.
slightly south). The large amplitude, deduced from McNaught's data, is 
confirmed by our findings:


            mpg ~ 11.5... >21, mpv = 8.8...18.
            



                           W. WENZEL


                        Sternwarte Sonneberg
                        Zentralinstitut fur Astrophysik
                        der Akademie der Wissenschaften
                        der DDR