GCVS Problems with Flare Stars

Abstract

The astrometric aspect of cataloguing variable stars becomes more and more important. During the past thirty years there has been approximately an three-fold increase of the number of known variables; now the rate of new discoveries becomes extremely high, and we may expect a new twofold increase in a couple of years due to discoveries made with space-borne instruments. To avoid confusion, we should continue our policy of naming new variables, and this is impossible without checking identifications with known variable stars, requiring good coordinates and/or finding charts. Operation of automatic telescopes also needs excellent coordinates just for pointing. For all these reasons, we are now working on improving considerably the accuracy standard of variable star coordinates, providing at least reasonably good coordinates for extragalactic variables (GCVS, 4th Edition, Vol. V, now in press, gives coordinates mainly to a second of arc) and variables in globular clusters, identifying variables, including those with rough published positions, with positional catalogues, etc.Flare stars are very important variables; potentially they are one of the most abundant types of variable stars. Their identification in minimum light may be rather complicated, especially for dense regions of star clusters and associations. Most regretfully, there are many cases of papers on flare stars introducing additional confusion connected with wrong designations, wrong coordinates, missing finding charts. Thus, there appear problems preventing us from incorporating some flare stars in the GCVS. Many definite variables remain in the status of “suspects”, being positionally close to known variables, and no finding chart being available either for the earlier known variable or for the new one. Sometimes we do include such a “pretender” into the GCVS, and years after a finding chart or good coordinates appear, and it turns out that we have two entries for the same star (see, for instance, numerous cases of duplicated names for flare stars in Taurus in the GCVS Vol. III).