The Epsilon Aurigae eclipse has begun - It's Official!

Following my talk a couple of months back, I promised I would keep you posted on what is happening with epsilon Aurigae. The latest is the eclipsing object is now back after 25 years and is showing in the spectra I am taking, though it will probably be a week or two yet before it becomes measurably fainter. To make these discoveries official and to keep the astronomical community up to date the International Astronomical Union issue "Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams" (CBET) Here is an extract from CBET 1885 :-)

"E. O. Waagen, AAVSO, writes that R. Leadbeater, Wigton, U.K., reported (via the AAVSO Discussion Group) the spectroscopic detection of the start of a predicted eclipse for the long-period binary star epsilon Aur. The last eclipse was in 1982-1984.
A redshifted component in the K I 769.9-nm line has appeared in LHIRES III observations obtained on July 20.081 UT, offset by +15 km/s and with 62-mA equivalent width. This emerging feature is uniquely associated with eclipse phases, wherein visual light declines by 0.75 mag over 18 months."

More information about my eps Aur observations can be found on my website