Related papers: Circumstellar environment of RX Puppis
Symbiotic stars are long-period interacting binary systems in which an evolved red giant star transfers material to its much hotter compact companion. Such a composition places them among the most variable stars. In addition to periodic…
ASAS, MACHO, OGLE and SAAO JHKL light curves of 13 stars, that have at some time been classified as D-type symbiotics, are analysed. Most of the near-IR light-curves that have been monitored over many years show long-term changes due to…
Some Miras -- long-period variables in late evolutionary stages -- have meandering pulsation periods and light curve asymmetries, the causes of which are still unclear. We aim to understand better the origin of these phenomena by…
Close binary systems often show linear polarization varying over the binary period, usually attributed to light scattered from electrons in circumstellar clouds. One of the brightest close binary systems is Spica (Alpha Virginis) consisting…
The mass-loss process in Mira stars probably occurs in an asymmetric way where dust can form in inhomogeneous circumstellar molecular clumps. Following asymmetries along the pulsation cycle can give us clues about these mass-loss processes.…
For aspherical interstellar dust grains aligned with their short axes preferentially parallel to the local magnetic field, the amount of extinction per grain is larger when the magnetic field is along the line of sight and smaller when in…
Photometric observations of V597 Pup made in 2008, 9.1 mag below maximum, 4 months after eruption, showed no certain orbital modulation but exhibited a quintuplet of oscillations centred on a period 261.9 s and uniform splitting at a…
More than 36 years have passed since the discovery of the infrared excess from circumstellar dust orbiting the white dwarf G29-38, which at 17.5 pc it is the nearest and brightest of its class. The precise morphology of the orbiting dust…
Hipparcos trigonometrical parallaxes of Mira-type variables have been combined with ground-based angular diameter measurements to derive linear diameters. Of eight stars with ground-based data, six have diameters indicating overtone…
We present combined photometric and spectroscopic analyses of the southern binary star PU Pup. High-resolution spectra of this system were taken at the University of Canterbury Mt. John Observatory in the years 2008 and again in 2014-15. We…
We present optical spectra and images of the X-ray binary Circinus X-1. The optical light curve of Cir X-1 is strongly variable, changing in brightness by 1.2 magnitudes in the space of four days. The shape of the light curve is consistent…
Previously, the X-ray emission of zeta Puppis was found to be variable with light curves harbouring "trends" with a typical timescale longer than the exposure length. The origin of these changes was proposed to be linked to large-scale…
Dust permeates the interstellar medium, reddening and polarizing background starlight, but dust properties vary with local environment. In order to characterize dust in a highly irradiated diffuse cloud, we measure the reddening and optical…
We present a model for the diffuse interstellar dust that explains the observed wavelength-dependence of extinction, emission, linear and circular polarisation of light. The model is set-up with a small number of parameters. It consists of…
The Galactic bulge at latitude $4<|b|$(deg.)$<10$ was claimed to show an X-shape, which means that stellar density distributions along the line of sight have a double peak. However, this double peak is only observed with the red-clump…
After a brief review of our current understanding of Miras and their evolutionary status, three aspects of ``real-time'' evolution in these and related stars are examined: # Chemical changes (O-rich to C-rich) due to third dredge-up #…
We present time-series linear-polarization observations of the bright O4 supergiant $\zeta$ Puppis. The star is found to show polarization variation on timescales of around an hour and longer. Many of the observations were obtained…
Results of $UBVRIJHKLM$ photometry and $VRI$ polarimetry of a young star RW Aur A observed during unprecedented long and deep (up to $\Delta V \approx 5$ mag) dimming events in 2010-11 and 2014-18 are presented. The polarization degree $p$…
We discuss visual observations spanning nearly 70 years of the nearby semiregular variable R Doradus. Using wavelet analysis, we show that the star switches back and forth between two pulsation modes having periods of 332 days and about 175…
Recent observation of linear optical polarization from brown dwarfs confirms the dust hypothesis in the atmospheres of brown dwarfs with effective temperature higher than 1400 K. The observed polarization could arise due to dust scattering…