TT Ari

AAVSO issued alert notice No. 408 on 13th Oct 2009 asking for close monitoring of the VY Sculptoris-class cataclysmic variable TT Ari.

I tried to mount a multi-observer night of monitoring using the SLOOH system but weather and technical problems defeated the project (at least so far). On 22 Nov 2009 there was a nice clear evening and I decide to have a go using my own equipment.

The star was observed from 21:11 to 22:33 UT on 22 Nov 2009 and 9 images acquired at approx 10 minute intervals. Each image was a stack from 12x30 sec exposures. Scope: 8" LX200 classic with f6.3 reducer and Meade DSI I camera operating in monochrome mode. Below is an animation of the star at its dimmest and brightest during the period (1 hour apart). The change in brightness was very noticeable as I watched the frames accumulate. (The 'blob' appearing next to TT Ari is probably a CR hit).

The fts files were input to Astrometrica and magnitudes obtained using the V filter setting. The magnitudes obtained will not be exactly correct as I was not using a real V filter, but the changes are well tracked and are shown here: