AK
From: (Allison Kirkpatrick)
AK
Subject: cataclysmic variable star ASAS 002511
AK
Date: 18 Nov 2004 15:07:29 -0800
AK
AK Recent novae have been very quickly assigned a permanent designation
AK by the IAU (i.e. Nova Scorpii 2004 was designated V1186 Sco shortly
AK after its discovery). Have similar permanent designations been
AK assigned to the newly-discovered cataclysmic variables ASAS
AK 002511+12172 in Pisces and "Var Her 04" in Hercules? (And if not, why
AK not?)

Variable star designations are addigned by AAVSO, which does a
remarkably thoro function at naming stars quickly. However, it deals
with stars within its own observing program, which means stars within
reach of home instruments. I suggest that ASAS star is so faint that
AAVSO didn't include it in its program [yet?].
IAU thru CBAT is supposed to name novae when they are announced
thru the IUACs. now, you kind of have to know what the state of IUACs
is nowadays, yes?
The sentiment at CBAT (and maybe with MPC to follow in a couple
months?) is that dusch announcements are privileges only to
subscribers of IUACs. On/about November 8th CBAT locked down its IUAC
website, requiring you to enter a passward obtained thru subscription.
Result? The nova you note MAY have a proper IAU designation but
you are no longer allowed to know about it unless you goet out there
and pay CBAT to tell you.
CBAT iddus an explanation (of sorts) on 11 November about this
situation. Here it is"
= = = = =
CBAT statement on online IAUCs - 11 November 2004
-----------------------------------------------
About the blocking of free access to new and old IAU Circulars, which
A/CC reported November 9th, apparently Vinzenz Luebben made inquiry
and received the following response from Dan Green at the IAU Central
Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT), which Luebben forwarded to
several mailing lists and A/CC on 11 November 2004.

For decades, the work of the CBAT has relied on paid subscriptions
for much of its operation. In 1997, Commission 6 of the IAU (which
oversees the CBAT operations) supported our efforts to begin posting
some older IAUCs to nonsubscribers at our website, with some delay for
recent IAUCs, which have long been posted with several weeks delay in
deference to our paying subscribers. We have long had warnings posted
at our website that, if the number of paying subscribers dropped off
too much, we reserve the right to have online Circulars available only
to paying subscribers. This is a common feature that professional
journals (and also many magazines and newspapers) have to retain their
paying subscribers. Due to the Internet, we have lost about a third of
our paying subscribers in the past decade .... not because there is a
lack of interest in what we issue, but because people have copied
(pirated) them freely outside of our knowledge. In fact, there may
well be *many* more readers of the IAUCs now than there were a decade
ago. But at this time, we urgently need to try and recoup some of our
dwindling income; we also get complaints from paying subscribers about
the freely posted IAUCs at our website. So we have blocked access by
non-paying subscribers to the IAUCs in what we hope is a temporary
measure, to raise our number of paying subscribers. Responsible,
interested readers of the IAUCs who are not now paying subscribers
will hopefully do the right thing and start their paid subscriptions.
Sizeable donations by a few individuals could also potentially allow
us to go back to posting IAUCs to non-paying subscribers- though out
of respect to our paying subscribers (unless we get some very large
donations to permit us to dispense with paid subscriptions, something
we would very much like to see), it may well become a permanent
feature that recent IAUCs will be delayed for a minimum of several
months in terms of availability to non-paying subscribers.
Our standard price for back issues of the IAUCs has been US$1.00
for a long time. In this case, we may have to photocopy the page and
mail it to you. We haven't yet finished getting all the old IAUCs in
ready electronic form. Send your check payable to "Central Bureau for
Astronomical Telegrams", drawn in U.S. dollars on a U.S. bank, to
CBAT, M.S. 18; Smithsonian Observatory; 60 Garden St.; Cambridge, MA
02138; U.S.A.
We need all responsible users of the IAUCs to help pay their fair
share of the costs. We hope that we can count on you to do your fair
share, seeing that you have interest and/or need in viewing the IAU
Circulars.
With kind regards, your sincerely,
Daniel W. E. Green, Director, IAU CBAT
= = = =
What's next?
It seems to me that if CBAT really means to restrict its news
offerings to subscribers, it better put the kaboosh on nonsubscribers
infesting that service with their discoveries and observations. Would
not the paying subscribers be in arms about the 'freeloaders' sending
in reports and finds to their privileged publications?

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