Orbital Period Changes in WZ Sagittae

Joseph Patterson, Geoffrey Stone, Jonathan Kemp, David Skillman, Enrique de Miguel, Michael Potter, Donn Starkey, Helena Uthas, Jim Jones, Douglas Slauson, Robert Koff, Gordon Myers, Kenneth Menzies, Tut Campbell, George Roberts, Jerry Foote, Tonny Vanmunster, Lewis M. Cook, Thomas Krajci, Yenal Ogmen, Richard Sabo, Jim Seargeant

Published 2017-12-30Version 1

We report a long-term (1961-2017) study of the eclipse times in the dwarf nova WZ Sagittae, in an effort to learn its rate of orbital-period change. Some wiggles with a time scale of 20-50 years are apparent, and a connection with the 23-year interval between dwarf-nova eruptions is possible. These back-and-forth wiggles dominate the O-C diagram, and prevent a secure measurement of the steady rate of orbital-period change. The line, it is drawn, the curse, it is cast. The slow one now will later be fast... For the times, they are a-changin'. - Dylan (1963)