As anyone following the observing campaign will realise, it has not gone quite as expected… The lightcurve remains flat and without any hint of the ~30%-deep eclipse we predicted.

To be frank, we got it wrong. We can now say that the eclipses seen in 2008 & 2011 around PDS 110 were not made by a periodic object, or at least, not one with dust that stuck around over 6 years. And we can say that thanks to the many fantastic observations from amateur and professional observers alike! So thanks very much for that.

The plan from here on out:

Professional observers: We can no longer expect you to contribute data. I’m sure your telescopes have other, more important targets that can be observed. Professional survey telescopes such as ASAS-SN will of course continue to monitor the star.

AAVSO: Voluntary amateur observations of the star will, we hope, continue. We still know this star has random (and probably aperiodic) eclipses which would be fantastic to observe again.

The paper: There will be a paper, submitted in the next couple of months, detailing the lightcurves and the null result. All significant contributors of data will receive co-authorship. For professional observatories, this includes the list of original contributors to the facility (I will chase these up once I have the data).

Data: Rather than re-reducing many disparate image sets, we request reduced photometry. Either uploaded to AAVSO, to the google doc, or by email. Please upload photometry in the next couple of weeks, so we can analyse the whole dataset together!

What did cause the eclipses is still somewhat unclear, and I’m sure the observations taken have improved our knowledge of this mysterious young star greatly.

Once again, thanks for your contributions. Thanks especially to the largest AAVSO observers – G. Myers, C. Lopresti, J. Hambsch, U. Quadri & M. Deldem. And professional contributors M. Mallonn, J. McCormac, R. Sfair & A. Scholz.

Clear skies,

Hugh Osborn