Near infrared monitoring observations of Nova T Pyxidis

ATel #4373; W. P. Varricatt, T. Carroll, J. Ehle and T. Wold (Joint Astronomy Centre, Hilo, HI, USA)
on 13 Sep 2012; 00:10 UT
Credential Certification: Watson Varricatt (w.varricatt@jach.hawaii.edu)

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T Pyxidis is a recurrent nova, the latest outburst of which was discovered on 2011 April 14 (Waagan, E.; Linnolt, M.; Pearce, A. 2011, IAUC, 9205, 1), nearly 50 years after its previous outburst (see Evans, A. et al. 2012, MNRAS, 424, L69).

We carried out near-IR photometric observations of of T Pyxidis, during its declining phase, with the 3.8-m United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT). The observations were performed during the UKIDSS backup time, employing the UKIRT Wide Field Camera (WFCAM) and the near-IR MKO filters Z, Y, J, H and K (effective wavelengths: 0.8717, 1.0305, 1.2483, 1.6313 and 2.2010 microns respectively) on multiple epochs from 2012 March 1 to May 4. The table given below shows the epochs of observations, filters used and the magnitudes estimated (in the UKIRT-WFCAM photometric system).

The brightness of the source continued to decline during the period of our observations; the near-IR magnitudes have not declined to the pre-outburst levels. There is no sign of any significant dust formation.

A plot of the available near-IR magnitudes is available at http://www.jach.hawaii.edu/UKIRT/publications/SC/TPyx_ATel_20120912.jpg

 
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UTDATE   | UT         | Heliocentric|Filt.|mag.    | error 
yyyymmdd | hh:mm:ss   | Julian Date |     |        | 
         |            | 2450000+    |     |        | 
---------------------------------------------------------- 
 
20120301 | 09:32:37.5 | 5987.901591 | Z   | 14.365 | 0.020 
20120301 | 09:35:51.0 | 5987.903831 | Y   | 14.149 | 0.010 
20120301 | 09:38:58.0 | 5987.905995 | J   | 14.024 | 0.050 
20120301 | 09:42:47.5 | 5987.908651 | H   | 13.865 | 0.010 
20120301 | 09:52:39.5 | 5987.915503 | K   | 13.325 | 0.010 
 
20120306 | 07:21:35.0 | 5992.810522 | Z   | 14.444 | 0.010 
20120306 | 07:25:46.5 | 5992.813433 | Y   | 14.214 | 0.010 
20120306 | 07:31:11.5 | 5992.817195 | J   | 14.059 | 0.010 
20120306 | 07:36:38.5 | 5992.820979 | H   | 13.926 | 0.010 
20120306 | 07:42:01.5 | 5992.824718 | K   | 13.379 | 0.010 
 
20120323 | 08:45:22.5 | 6009.868262 | Z   | 14.442 | 0.015 
20120323 | 08:49:34.0 | 6009.871172 | Y   | 14.293 | 0.010 
20120323 | 08:54:54.0 | 6009.874876 | J   | 14.157 | 0.020 
20120323 | 09:00:13.5 | 6009.878574 | H   | 13.985 | 0.010 
20120323 | 09:05:33.5 | 6009.882277 | K   | 13.492 | 0.040 
 
20120429 | 06:18:28.0 | 6046.764372 | Z   | 14.661 | 0.011 
20120429 | 06:21:24.0 | 6046.766409 | Y   | 14.518 | 0.015 
20120429 | 06:24:06.0 | 6046.768284 | J   | 14.421 | 0.014 
20120429 | 06:27:11.0 | 6046.770425 | H   | 14.314 | 0.014 
20120429 | 06:30:20.0 | 6046.772612 | K   | 13.884 | 0.010 
 
20120430 | 06:33:52.0 | 6047.775003 | Z   | 14.724 | 0.013 
20120430 | 06:36:21.0 | 6047.776728 | Y   | 14.560 | 0.010 
20120430 | 06:39:27.0 | 6047.778880 | J   | 14.454 | 0.010 
20120430 | 06:42:28.0 | 6047.780975 | H   | 14.297 | 0.010 
20120430 | 06:45:39.0 | 6047.783186 | K   | 13.869 | 0.010 
 
20120504 | 06:08:33.0 | 6052.757106 | Z   | 14.601 | 0.010 
20120504 | 06:11:00.0 | 6052.758807 | Y   | 14.496 | 0.010 
20120504 | 06:13:52.0 | 6052.760797 | J   | 14.351 | 0.010 
20120504 | 06:16:51.0 | 6052.762869 | H   | 14.225 | 0.010 
20120504 | 06:19:43.0 | 6052.764860 | K   | 13.813 | 0.010 
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UKIRT is operated by the Joint Astronomy Centre on behalf of the UK-STFC. The data reduction and distribution are performed by the Cambridge Astronomy Survey Unit and the Wide Field Astronomy Unit respectively.