A Time Series of BV photometry and Halpha Emission Fluxes of the Eclipsing Binary VV Cep

Pollmann, E. and Vollmann, W. and Bennett, P.D. (2017) A Time Series of BV photometry and Halpha Emission Fluxes of the Eclipsing Binary VV Cep. Information Bulletin on Variable Stars, 62 (6198). ISSN 1587-2440

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Abstract

VV Cephei (= HR 8383 = HD 208816) is the brightest eclipsing M supergiant binary (M2 Iab + B0-2? V) in the sky, and is a massive binary with one of the longest known orbital periods (7430 days = 20.34 years) of any eclipsing system. With the next eclipse beginning in August 2017, and lasting nearly two years (650 days) from 1st to 4th contact, an extensive observational campaign is planned. This paper focusses on the photometric variability of the system out of eclipse, and presents and photometry and H emission fluxes observed over the period from mid-2008 through late 2016. The and light curves show correlated variability with peak power of 145 days, presumably due to low-amplitude pulsations of the M supergiant. The H emission fluxes show a short-term variability, but the sampling is not sufficient to permit quantitative analysis. However, the H fluxes also appear to show a long-term modulation related to the variable orbital separation of this eccentric binary.

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