But are the outbursts
periodic?
Traditional methods of periodic analysis of light curves
used by scientists
do not work.
–The
light curve sampling has increased from <1 point per year in 1900 to 5600 points per year from
1993-95.
–The error on each point has decreased by a
factor of »10.
–The
analysis is totally dominated by data since 1972 (the 1993-95 data has 104-105 times more weight in the archive than the
oldest data).
–Taking
any kind of light curve average changes the results.
Although the outbursts have been “periodic” since 1972, only about three complete periods have been observed
–The
less accurate historical data is critical in the light curve analysis.
