Related papers: The eclipsing supersoft X-ray binary CAL 87
Many intermediate-mass close binaries exhibit photometric cycles longer than their orbital periods, likely related to accretion-disk variability. Previous studies indicate that historical light curves (LC) provide key constraints on disk…
Ultraluminous supersoft X-ray sources (ULSs) exhibit supersoft X-ray spectra with blackbody temperatures below 0.1 keV and bolometric luminosities above 10$^{39}$ ergs s$^{-1}$. In this Letter, we report the first optical spectroscopic…
An extremely soft X-ray excess throughout galaxy clusters has been claimed as a new feature of these sytems, with important physical implications. We have reexamined this feature in the five clusters for which it has been discussed, using…
We study the newly discovered variable star GSC 4560--02157. CCD photometry was performed in 2013--2014, and a spectrum was obtained with the 6-m telescope in June, 2014. GSC 4560--02157 is demonstrated to be a short-period (P=0.265359d)…
The massive black hole + Wolf-Rayet binary IC10 X-1 was observed in a series of 10 Chandra and 2 XMM-Newton observations spanning 2003-2012, showing consistent variability around 7 x10^37 erg/s, with a spectral hardening event in 2009. We…
We present the XMM-Newton observations obtained during four revolutions in Spring and Summer 2004 of CXOGC J174540.0-290031, a moderately bright transient X-ray source, located at only 2.9" from SgrA*. We report the discovery of sharp and…
We present an {\sl XMM-Newton} observation of the eclipsing binary Algol which contains an X-ray dark B8V primary and an X-ray bright K2IV secondary. The observation covered the optical secondary eclipse and captured an X-ray flare that was…
We present phase-resolved spectral and multicolor CCD-photometric observations of the eclipsing polar RX J0719.2+6557 obtained with relatively high time (~600 sec/15 sec) and spectral (2.1 A) resolution when the system was in a high…
We present spectroscopy of the ejecta of SN 1987A in 2017 and 2018 from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Very Large Telescope, covering the wavelength range between $1150$ and $10000$ {\AA}. At 31 years, this is the first epoch with…
We present the first {\it XMM-Newton} observation of the classical supergiant high-mass X-ray binary XTE J1855$-$026 taken entirely during the eclipse of the neutron star (NS), covering the orbital phases $\phi= 0.00-0.11$. The analysis of…
The spectrophotometric flux calibration of recent spectroscopic surveys has reached a limiting systematic precision of approximately 1-3 percent, and is often biased near the wavelengths associated with H I Balmer absorption. As we prepare…
Eclipsing binaries (EBs) play an important astrophysical role in studying stellar properties and evolution. By analyzing photometric data in the LAMOST Medium-Resolution Survey field, RA: $23^h$$01^m$$51.00^s$, Dec:…
We present orbit-resolved spectroscopic and photometric observations of the polar ST LMi during its recent low and high states. In the low state spectra, we report the presence of blue and red satellites to the H-alpha emission line; the…
The X-ray spectra of Anomalous X-ray Pulsars have long been fit by smooth, empirical models such as the sum of a black-body plus a power law. These reproduce the ~0.5 to 10 keV range well, but fail at lower and higher energies, grossly…
We find that the ROSAT source 1RXS J105010.3-140431 is a cataclysmic variable with orbital period of 88.6 minutes and a spectrum closely resembling WZ Sge. In particular, emission lines are flanked by Stark-broadened absorption wings…
The study of X-ray reprocessing is one of the key diagnostic tools to probe the environment in X-ray binary systems. One difficult aspect of studying X-ray reprocessing is the presence of much brighter primary radiation from the compact…
We investigate the UV-optical (longward of Ly$\alpha$ 1216\AA) spectral variability of nearly 9000 quasars ($0<z<4$) using multi-epoch photometric data within the SDSS Stripe 82 region. The regression slope in the flux-flux space of a…
We report a study of the spectra and structure of the accretion disk of the dwarf nova V2051 Ophiuchi while the star was in an unusual faint brightness state during 1996. The differences between the UV resonant lines and continuum disk…
We present observations of a new low-mass double-lined eclipsing binary system discovered using repeat observations of the celestial equator from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey II. Using near-infrared photometry and optical spectroscopy we…
Eclipsing binary star systems provide the most accurate method of measuring both the masses and radii of stars. Moreover, they enable testing tidal synchronization and circularization theories, as well as constraining models of stellar…