The 2014 Eclipse of EE Cep. Announcement for a Third International Observational Campaign

TL;DR

This paper discusses the 2014 eclipse of EE Cep, a system with a Be star and dusty disk, and announces a third international observational campaign to test the disk precession model and refine system parameters.

Contribution

It introduces a new observational campaign aimed at verifying the disk precession model and improving understanding of EE Cep's physical characteristics.

Findings

Historical data supports a disk precession period of 11-12 times the orbital period.

Predicted eclipse depth for 2014 is about 2 magnitudes.

Upcoming eclipse expected around August 23, 2014.

Abstract

EE Cep is a unique system in which a Be star is eclipsed by a dark dusty disk, making this star similar to the famous epsilon Aur in many respects. The depth and the duration of the EE Cep eclipses change to a large extent. The last two eclipses were observed in the framework of extensive international campaigns. The joint analysis of these campaigns data and historical photometry, enabled us to propose a model of this system, which implies a disk precession with a period approximately 11-12 times larger than the orbital period. This model predicts that the forthcoming eclipse should be among the deepest observed, reaching about 2 mag. The next eclipse approaches - the photometric minimum should occur around August 23, 2014. Here we would like to announce a new, third international campaign with purpose to verify the disk precession model and to put more constraints on the physical parameters of this system.