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| | AAVSO: R Aquarii, Summer 2003 Variable Star Of The Season |
 | | Harding, an assistant at the Johann Schoter's Observatory in Lilienthal, Germany, was originally looking for a "missing" planet between Mars and Jupiter as part of the "Celestial Police" project at the observatory. |
 | | In addition to the minor planet finding, Harding's observations lead to the discovery of four variable stars, all of Mira-related type: R Virginis in 1809, R Aquarii in 1810, R Serpentis in 1826, and S Serpentis in 1828. |
 | | All of Harding's variables are in the AAVSO observing program and all are favorites amongst many observers, but what makes R Aqr so interesting is the assorted components that make up R Aqr system and the light curve that follows. |
| www.aavso.org /vstar/vsots/summer03.shtml (1582 words) |
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