RR Telescopii [SEP] constellation
RR Telescopii
RR Telescopii is a symbiotic nova in the southern constellation Telescopium. It was recorded on photographic survey plates as a faint variable star between photographic magnitude (m) 9 to 16.6 from 1889 to 1944. In late 1944 the star began to brighten, increasing by about 7 magnitudes, from m ≈ 14 to brighter than 8. Brightening continued with a diminished rate of increase after early 1945, but the overall outburst was not noted until the star was seen at about 6.0, the threshold of naked eye brightness,
white dwarf.
While RR Telescopii, also designated "Nova Telescopii 1948", is often called a slow nova, it is now classified as a symbiotic nova system composed of an M5III pulsating red giant and a white dwarf; between 1944 and 1948 it brightened by about 7 magnitudes before being noticed at apparent magnitude 6.0 in mid-1948. It has since faded slowly to about apparent magnitude 12. QS Telescopii is a binary system composed of a white dwarf and main sequence donor star, in this case the two are close enough