Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
IAUC 3113: NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBERS AND CONTRIBUTORS; H 1743-32; CH Cyg
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Circular No. 3113
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
Postal Address: Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.
Cable Address: SATELLITES, NEWYORK Telex: 921428
Telephone: (617) 864-5758
NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBERS AND CONTRIBUTORS
Owing to considerably increased costs of operation and the
need for the Central Bureau to be more self supporting, it has become
necessary for us significantly to increase our sources of revenue.
IAU Commission 6 proposes that this be accomplished in two
different ways, beginning with IAUC 3116 in early October.
(1) The subscription rate for regular accounts will be raised
from 24c to 30c per issue. While this increase may seem rather
large, It can be noted that for overseas (airmail) subscribers the
current rate is in fact less than in Dec. 1967. Regular subscribers
receive statements of their accounts approximately once per
year, and it is expected that the principal observatories and libraries
will subscribe at the regular rate. For special accounts
the increase will be smaller, from 18c to 20c per issue. The special
rate is a concession to amateur astronomers and small institutions.
A special subscriber is not billed but can keep track of
his account by noting that the last four figures of the 12-figure
number above his name and address show the Circular No. up to which
he has paid; in order to maintain continuity, renewals (generally
at a rate of $10.00 for 50 issues or $20.00 for 100 issues) should
be made when, say, 10 issues remain in a subscription; missing issues
can be supplied only at the regular rate of 30c per copy.
(2) It has also been decided that line charges (analogous to
the page charges of many other astronomical journals) will be levied
on some of those who contribute material for publication on
these Circulars. It will obviously not be appropriate for us to
make this charge in all cases, and we certainly do not intend to
discourage astronomers - amateur or professional - from reporting
to us their discoveries of comets, unusual minor planets, novae and
supernovae. The Central Bureau must also continue to support the
publication of accurate positional observations of these objects,
as well as orbital elements and ephemerides, although in consultation
with IAU Commission 20 we are considering an alternative procedure
for the publication of cometary data that are not of particularly
immediate importance. All contributions by amateur astronomers
will also be exempt from the line charges. Charges will be
levied, however, on observations made at wavelengths outside the
optical range (i.e., radio, infrared, ultraviolet, x-ray, gamma-ray)
and on most optical photometric and spectroscopic observations.
The proposed charges, $25.00 per title (reduced to $15.00 for each
individual item published on the same Circular under the same
title) plus $5.00 per line, may seem excessive in comparison with
the charges of other journals in terms of area, but it must be realized
that, because they are published and distributed rapidly,
the IAU Circulars are relatively expensive to produce, and even a
short article in a conventional journal typically incurs a page
charge of $60.00. As with other journals, charges may be waived in
cases of hardship, but contributors whose research is amply supported
are expected to honor them. Those paying the line charges will
receive 12 extra copies of the Circulars to which they contribute.
H 1743-32
HEAO-1 experimenters report that they have accurately positioned
the x-ray transient mentioned on IAUC 3099 and 3106. R.
Doxsey, H. Bradt, G. Fabbiano, R. Griffiths, H. Gursky, M. Johnston,
R. Leach, A. Ramsey, D. Schwartz, J. Schwarz and G. Spada report
that the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory-Massachusetts Institute
of Technology scanning modulation collimator, used in conjunction
with the Naval Research Laboratory large-area sky survey (H.
Friedman, Principal Investigator), gives two possible positions for
the transient: R.A. = 17h43m01s, Decl. = -32o12'.7 or 17h41m47s, -32o12'.2
(equinox 1950.0; errors +/- 2s in R.A., +/- 1'.5 in Decl.). These two
S.A.O.-M.I.T. positions lie within a larger error box at R.A. 17h42m.4 +/-
0m.8, Decl. = -32o.2 +/- 0o.1 provided by the N.R.L. team. Improvement in
the N.R.L. declination has been made using the S.A.O. aspect solution,
resulting in Decl. = -32o13' +/- 3'. The N.R.L. detectors showed that on
Sept. 19 the source's intensity in the 1-10 keV range was 0.73 +/-
0.10 times that of the Crab Nebula, with a spectrum somewhat harder
than that of the Crab and with a low-energy cutoff consistent with
a column density of ~ 2 x 10**22 hydrogen atoms cm**-2
CH CYGNI
S. E. Smith and B. W. Bopp, Department of Physics and Astronomy,
University of Toledo, write: "Approximately 20 spectrograms of
CH Cyg (cf. IAUC 3101, 3102), covering the wavelength region 5700-8700
A (dispersion 40 A/mm), have been obtained at the Ritter Observatory
between June and September. The H-alpha profile during this outburst
shows two emission components, with the blue component several
times stronger than the red. The separation between emission
peaks is ~ 130 km/s; the velocity of the central reversal is ~ -70
km/s, comparable to the absorption-line velocities reported by
Deutsch et al. (1974, Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific 86, 233). No
striking profile changes in H-alpha have been seen in the past three
months. No other emission features are visible in the red."
1977 September 28 (3113) Brian G. Marsden
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