Orbital parameters of the high-mass X-ray binary 4U 2206+54

We present new radial velocities of the high-mass X-ray binary star 4U 2206+54 based on optical spectra obtained with the Coude spectrograph at the 2m RCC telescope at the Rozhen National Astronomical Observatory, Bulgaria in the period November 2011 -- July 2013. The radial velocity curve of the HeI $lambda$6678 AA line is modeled with an orbital period P$_{orb}$ = 9.568~d and an eccentricity of $e$ = 0.3. These new measurements of the radial velocity resolve the disagreements of the orbital period discussions.

Emission line variability in the spectrum of V417 Centauri

We report high resolution spectral observations of the yellow symbiotic star V417 Cen obtained in 2004. We find that the equivalent widths of the emission lines decreased, while the brightness increased. The FWHMs and wavelengths of the emission lines do not change. We estimated the interstellar extinction towards V417 Cen as $E_{B-V}$ = 0.95 $pm$0.10, using the KI interstellar line. Using the [O III] lines, we obtain a rough estimation of the density and the temperature in the forbidden lines region $log N_e approx 4.5 pm$ 0.5 and $T_e=100000 pm 25000$~K. Tidal interaction in this binary is also discussed.

Simultaneous UBVRI observations of the cataclysmic variable AE Aquarii: temperature and mass of fireballs

We report simultaneous multicolour observations in 5 bands (UBVRI) of the flickering variability of the cataclysmic variable AE Aqr. Our aim is to estimate the parameters (colours, temperature, size) of the fireballs that produce the optical flares. The observed rise time of the optical flares is in the interval 220 - 440 sec. We estimate the dereddened colours of the fireballs: (U-B)_0 in the range 0.8-1.4, (B-V)_0 ~ 0.03-0.24, (V-I)_0 ~ 0.26-0.78. We find for the fireballs a temperature in the range 10000 - 25000 K, mass (7-90).10^{19} g, size (3-7).10^9 cm (using a distance of d=86 pc). These values refer to the peak of the flares observed in UBVRI bands. The data are available upon request from the authors.

UBVRI observations of the flickering of RS Ophiuchi at Quiescence

We report observations of the flickering variability of the recurrent nova RS Oph at quiescence on the basis of simultaneous observations in 5 bands (UBVRI). RS Oph has flickering source with (U-B)_0=-0.62 pm 0.07, (B-V)_0=0.15 pm 0.10, (V-R)_0=0.25 pm 0.05. We find for the flickering source a temperature T_fl = 9500 pm 500 K, and luminosity L_fl = 50 - 150 L_sun (using a distance of d=1.6kpc). We also find that on a (U-B) vs (B-V) diagram the flickering of the symbiotic stars differs from that of the cataclysmic variables. The possible source of the flickering is discussed. The data are available upon request from the authors and on the web www.astro.bas.bg/~rz/RSOph.UBVRI.2010.MNRAS.tar.gz.