No abstract

No abstract

All published and newly observed times of minimum light of the massive, early-type eclipsing binary star AH Cep were analyzed. After subtracting the light-time effect due to the well-known third body from the residuals of the observed times of minimum light, it was found that the second-order O À C residuals varied in a cyclical way. It was assumed that the secondary oscillations were produced by a light-time effect due to a fourth body so all the times of minimum light were reanalyzed with a differential least-squares scheme in order to obtain the light-time orbits due to both the third and fourth bodies. The periods, eccentricities, and semiamplitudes of the light-time orbits for the third and fourth bodies were derived as P 3 ¼ 67:6 and P 4 ¼ 9:6 yr, e 3 ¼ 0:52 and e 4 ¼ 0:64, and K 3 ¼ 0:0608 and K 4 ¼ 0:0040 days, respectively. The radial velocities of AH Cep published so far do not conflict with the hypothesis of the multiplicity of the system, but their accuracies are not high enough to support the interpretation. Other properties of the distant bodies are discussed for assorted possible inclinations of their orbits.

On Tuesday 22 August 2006 approximately 40 people attended the Commission 41 History of Astronomy Business Meeting at the IAU XXVI General Assembly in Prague. Commission president Alex Gurshtein opened the meeting, welcoming the commission members and calling for a moment of silence for those members who passed away in the last triennium. David DeVorkin was appointed recording secretary for the meeting, with Steven Dick as the scruitineer of the ballot. A moment of silence was then observed in the memory of members departed over the last triennium, including: Jerzy Dobrzycki (Poland), Robert Duncan (Australia), Mohammad Edalati (Iran), Philip Morrison (USA), John Perdix (Australia), Neil Porter (Ireland), Gibson Reaves (USA), Brian Robinson (Australia), and Raymond E. White (USA).

No abstract