Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
IAUC 3872: GX 1+4; Sats OF JUPITER AND SATURN
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Circular No. 3872
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
Postal Address: Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.
TWX 710-320-6842 ASTROGRAM CAM Telephone 617-864-5758
GX 1+4
R. Hall, Leicester University X-Ray Astronomy Group; and J.
Davelaar, EXOSAT Observatory Team, report that a Sept. 24/25
observation for ~ 13 hr by EXOSAT failed to detect this x-ray
pulsator. The upper limit to the observed flux was ~ 4 ufu. Normally
a bright source (50-200 ufu), GX 1+4 has the largest spinup rate
of any of the known pulsators. This current low x-ray state may
suggest that large changes have occurred in the mass transfer from
the M6III star to its neutron star companion. Optical observations,
particularly spectroscopy, will be valuable in elucidating
the nature of this unusual behavior. The optical star has V =
18.9, J = 10.4, with large reddening and shows symbiotic characteristics
along with very high ionization lines (Fe X). Its position
is R.A. = 17h28m57s89, Decl. = -24deg42'34"9 (equinox 1950.0);
for a finding chart see Doxsey et al. (1977, Nature 270, 586).
SATELLITES OF JUPITER AND SATURN
R. M. West, IAU General Secretary, informs us that, following
the joint recommendation of Commission 20 and the Working Group
for Planetary System Nomenclature, the IAU Executive Committee has
accepted the following names and permanent designations for
recently discovered satellites of Jupiter and Saturn:
Jupiter XIV Thebe = 1979 J2
Jupiter XV Adrastea = 1979 J1
Jupiter XVI Metis = 1979 J3
Saturn XV Atlas = 1980 S28.
The decision concerning Jupiter XIV reaffirms action by the IAU in
1982, at which time the following additional names and
designations were accepted:
Saturn X Janus = 1980 S1
Saturn XI Epimetheus = 1980 S3
Saturn XII = 1980 S6 ('Dione B')
Saturn XIII Telesto = 1980 S13
Saturn XIV Calypso = 1980 S25.
Saturn X and XI were apparently also both observed in 1966. The
list supersedes information given elsewhere in the astronomical
literature: specifically, the ordering of the satellites of
Jupiter in IAU Trans. XVIIIA, 669 is erroneous.
1983 September 30 (3872) Brian G. Marsden
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