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Abstract: Symbiotic stars are the widest interacting binaries, whose orbital periods are of the order of years, or even more, while cataclysmic variables are interacting binaries with periods of a few hours. Both systems comprise a white dwarf as the accretor, and undergo unpredictable outbursts. Using the multicolour photometry and optical spectroscopy obtained with small telescopes, I present examples of the white dwarf outburst in a cataclysmic variable, the classical nova V339 Del, and that in the symbiotic star AG Peg. In this way I highlight importance of observations of bright outbursts using small telescopes.
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Last update: May 30, 2019