* Astronomy

Z Camelopardalis is in outburst.
An outburst of the UGZ dwarf nova was discovered on the 25th May, 2009.

Z Camelopardalis is similar to U Geminorum stars except the light curve has a distinct plateau that occurs about one third of the way from maximum to minimum. The star can standstill at a particular brightness  for up to several normal cycles before resuming its usual pattern. The star otherwise behaves like an SS Cygni star.
Z Camelopardalis is a binary, or two component star; consisting of a G1-type dwarf primary and a mass transferring  white dwarf secondary that orbit around each other every 7 hours 21 minutes.
Eruptions occur on average every 20 days and increase the star's luminosity about 40 times.

Z Cam lies at a distance of 530 light-years in the constellation Camelopardalis; and is a northern circumpolar star, so is well placed in the sky at this time of year.

Visual magnitude: 10.2 max
Visual magnitude: 14.5 min

IMAGE

Position (2000): RA: 08 25 13.20, Dec: +73 06 39.0

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