Enhancing Our Knowledge of Northern Cepheids through Photometric Monitoring

TL;DR

This study involves regular photometric monitoring of northern hemisphere Cepheids, including Polaris and HDE 344787, to improve understanding of their properties and refine the Galactic Cepheid period-luminosity relation.

Contribution

It provides new observational data on northern Cepheids, including Polaris and a double-mode Cepheid, aiding in calibration and Galactic structure studies.

Findings

Polaris shows unusual light amplitude fluctuations.

HDE 344787 has a very small amplitude, indicating its double-mode nature.

Data will improve the calibration of the Cepheid period-luminosity relation.

Abstract

A selection of known and newly-discovered northern hemisphere Cepheids and related objects are being monitored regularly through CCD observations at the automated Abbey Ridge Observatory, near Halifax, and photoelectric photometry from the Saint Mary's University Burke-Gaffney Observatory. Included is Polaris, which is displaying unusual fluctuations in its growing light amplitude, and a short-period, double-mode Cepheid, HDE 344787, with an amplitude smaller than that of Polaris, along with a selection of other classical Cepheids in need of additional observations. The observations are being used to establish basic parameters for the Cepheids, for application to the Galactic calibration of the Cepheid period-luminosity relation as well as studies of Galactic structure.