================================================================================
                         THE COMBINED TABLE OF
GENERAL CATALOGUE OF VARIABLE STARS VOLUMES I-III, 4TH ED. (GCVS4) (KHOLOPOV+ 1988)
                                  AND
       NAMELISTS OF VARIABLE STARS NOS.67-76 (KHOLOPOV+, 1985-2001)

       <Institute of Astronomy of Russian Academy of Sciences and
 Sternberg State Astronomical Institute of the Moscow State University>
================================================================================
General Catalogue of Variable Stars, 4th Edition, Volumes I-III.
  Kholopov P.N., Samus N.N., Frolov M.S., Goranskij V.P., Gorynya
  N.A., Karitskaya E.A., Kazarovets E.V., Kireeva N.N., Kukarkina N.P.,
  Kurochkin N.E., Medvedeva G.I., Pastukhova E.N., Perova N.B.,
  Rastorguev A.S., and Shugarov S.Yu.
  <Moscow: Nauka Publishing House (1985-1988)>
Kholopov P.N., Samus N.N., Kazarovets E.V., Perova N.B.
  <IAU Inform. Bull. Var. Stars, 2681, 1 (1985)>
Kholopov P.N., Samus N.N., Kazarovets E.V., Kireeva N.N.
  <IAU Inform. Bull. Var. Stars, 3058, 1 (1987)>
Kholopov P.N., Samus N.N., Kazarovets B.V., Frolov M.S., Kireeva N.N.
  <IAU Inform. Bull. Var. Stars, 3323, 1 (1989)>
Kazarovets E.V., Samus N.N.
  <IAU Inform. Bull. Var. Stars, 3530, 1 (1990)>
Kazarovets E.V., Samus N.N., Goranskij V.P.
  <IAU Inform. Bull. Var. Stars, 3840, 1 (1993)>
Kazarovets E.V., Samus N.N.
  <IAU Inform. Bull. Var. Stars, 4140, 1 (1995)>
Kazarovets E.V., Samus N.N.
  <IAU Inform. Bull. Var. Stars, 4471, 1 (1997)>
Kazarovets E.V., Samus N.N., Durlevich O.V., Antipin S.V., Frolov M.S.,
   Kireeva N.N., Pastukhova E.N.
  <IAU Inform. Bull. Var. Stars, 4659, 1 (1999)>
Kazarovets E.V., Samus N.N., Durlevich O.V.,
  <IAU Inform. Bull. Var. Stars, 4870, 1 (2000)>
Kazarovets E.V., Samus N.N., Durlevich O.V.,
  <IAU Inform. Bull. Var. Stars, 5135, 1 (2001)>
================================================================================
ftp ftp.sai.msu.su, /pub/groups/cluster/gcvs/gcvs/iii/
http://www.sai.msu.su/groups/cluster/gcvs/gcvs/iii/
gcvs@sai.msu.su


                              INTRODUCTION

The present improved electronic version of the GCVS4 Volumes I-V,
combined with Name-Lists of Variable Stars Nos.67-76, are available from
Sternberg Institute via anonymous ftp to
ftp.sai.msu.su, /pub/groups/cluster/gcvs... and via
http://www.sai.msu.su/groups/cluster/gcvs/ . The information at
this site is regularly updated (corrections of detected mistakes,
improvements of identifications and coordinates, etc.).

This GCVS edition contains data for 28484 individual variable objects
discovered and named as variable stars by 1982 and located mainly in the
Milky Way galaxy.  These data are contained in the first three published
volumes.  The computer version GCVS4 vols.  I-III contains principally
the same data as in the first three volumes of the printed catalog.
only the data table without the textual material (introduction,
bibliography, remarks) is included.  The Name-lists Nos. 67-76 contain
variable stars designated between 1982 and 2001; these stars are also
incorporated in the combined catalog, but note that their
cross-identifications with astronomical catalogues as well as remarks
and references may be found in the file nl.zip, which is a complete
electronic version of the Name-lists.  The fourth volume of
the fourth edition, published in 1990, contains a table of all variables
ordered by right ascension (B1950), a table of variables
listed by variability type, and an extensive series of
cross-identification tables to alternative designations.  The electronic
version vol.  IV contains only the cross- identification tables (see
iv.zip).  The final, fifth volume contains data for variables in
external galaxies (including the Magellanic Clouds) and for
extragalactic supernovae (see v.zip).

                              DESCRIPTION

This data set is the combined computer-readable version of the GCVS4
Vols.  I-III (Kholopov et al. 1985-1988) and Name-Lists of Variable
Stars Nos.67-76 published in the system introduced during the
preparation of the 4th GCVS edition.  The total number of designated
variable stars has now reached 37470; of them, 8986 stars enter the
Name-Lists Nos.67-76.

All variables in the present data set are arranged in the order of their
names inside constellations.  For Name-list stars, the information
follows the format of the Name-Lists, that is, it includes only
coordinates, the variability type, the range of brightness variations,
and references.

We have corrected the errors revealed in the printed Volumes I-III.
Then, we have improved coordinates for those variables of Vols. I-III
which also enter Volume V, using the results of the positional
determinations undertaken during the preparation of Vol. V.

We have started preparation of an electronic release GCVS 4.2 which will
contain improved light elements, classifications etc. along with
sufficiently accurate positional information.  The first approach to
this project has resulted in improved equatorial positions (B1950,
J2000) for variable stars in the constellations of Andromeda - Crux
including the stars from the GCVS proper plus the stars from the
subsequent Name-lists, with a new standard of positional accuracy, to 1
second of arc.  These positions have been incorporated in the present
data set.

File Summary:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 FileName    Kbt         Explanations
------------------------------------------------------------------------
index.htm       19       HTML-site
ReadMe          16       This file
iii.dat       6041       The GCVS4 Catalog
vartype.txt     62       GCVS Variability Types
ref.txt        508       References
rem.txt        689       Remarks
constel.dat      2       Numerical Codes for Constellations
variable.dat     6       Numerical Codes for Variable stars
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Byte-by-byte Description of file: iii.dat
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Bytes Format Units  Label      Explanations
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  1-  2  I2    ---    Constell   [1/88]Constellation numeric code
  3-  6  I4    ---    Number     Star number within the constellation
      7  A1    ---    Component *Component identification
  9- 18  A10   ---    GCVS      *Variable star designation
     19  A1    ---    NoteFlag  *[*] Notes in published catalog
 21- 22  I2    h      RAh       *Hours RA, equinox 1950.0
 23- 24  I2    min    RAm       *Minutes RA, equinox 1950.0
 25- 28  F4.1  s      RAs       *Seconds RA, equinox 1950.0
     29  A1    ---    DE-       *Sign Dec, equinox 1950.0
 30- 31  I2    deg    DEd       *Degrees Dec, equinox 1950.0
 32- 33  I2    arcmin DEm       *Minutes Dec, equinox 1950.0
 34- 35  I2    arcsec DEs       *Seconds Dec, equinox 1950.0
     36  A1    ---    u_DEs     *[:*'] position accuracy flags
 38- 39  I2    h      RAh        Hours RA, equinox 2000.0
 40- 41  I2    min    RAm        Minutes RA, equinox 2000.0
 42- 45  F4.1  s      RAs        Seconds RA, equinox 2000.0
     46  A1    ---    DE-        Sign Dec, equinox 2000.0
 47- 48  I2    deg    DEd        Degrees Dec, equinox 2000.0
 49- 50  I2    arcmin DEm        Minutes Dec, equinox 2000.0
 51- 52  I2    arcsec DEs        Seconds Dec, equinox 2000.0
     53  A1    ---    u_DEs     *[:*'] position accuracy flags
     54  A1    ---    u_DEs     *[*] position accuracy flags
 55- 64  A10   ---    VarType    Type of variability(see file vartype.txt)
     66  A1    ---    l_magMax   [<>(] ">" if magMax is a faint limit
                                       "<" if magMax is a bright limit
                                       "(" if magMax is an amplitude
 67- 72  F6.3  mag    magMax     Magnitude at maximum brightness
     73  A1    ---    u_magMax   Uncertainty flag (:) on magMax
     73  A1    ---    n_magMax  *Alternative photometric system for magMax
     74  A1    ---    f_magMax   [)] ")" if magMax is an amplitude
     76  A1    ---    l_magMin   [<(] "<" if magMin is a bright limit
                                      "(" if magMin is an amplitude
 77- 82  F6.3  mag    magMin     Minimum magnitude or amplitude
     83  A1    ---    u_magMin   Uncertainty flag (:) on magMin
 84- 85  A1    ---    n_magMin  *Alternative photometric system for magMin
     86  A1    ---    f_magMin   [)] ")" if magMin is an amplitude
 88- 89  A2    ---    magCode   *The photometric system for magnitudes
 91-102  F11.5 d      Epoch     *Epoch for maximum light, Julian days
    102  A1    ---    q_Epoch   *[:+-] Quality flag on Epoch
104-107  A4    ---    YearNova   Year of outburst for nova or supernova
    108  A1    ---    q_Year     [:] Quality flag on Year of outburst
    110  A1    ---    l_Period  *[<>(] Code for upper or lower limits
111-126 F16.10 d      Period     Period of the variable star
    127  A1    ---    u_Period   Uncertainty flag (:) on Period
128-129  A1    ---    n_Period  *[*/N)]
131-133  A3    %      M-m/D     *Rising time (M-m) or duration of eclipse (D)
    134  A1    ---    u_M-m/D    Uncertainty flag (:) on M-m/D
    135  A1    ---    n_M-m/D   *[*] Note for eclipsing variable
137-153  A17   ---    SpType     Spectral type
155-159  A5    ---    Ref1      *Reference to a study of the star
161-165  A5    ---    Ref2      *Reference to a chart or photograph
167-178  A12   ---    Exists    *Cases of non-existence of the variable etc.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note on Component :designations of components of double/multiple stars :
   A,B; 1,2,3  ... (tau 1). Usually only one component of the binary
   is variable, but there exist two cases (CE Cas A,B; EQ Peg A,B) when
   both components are variable and enter the catalogue as separate lines.
Note on GCVS :traditional transliterations of greek letters
  are used. Lower- and upper-case latin letters must be distinguished
  (e.g. u Her and U Her). See also files variable.dat, constel.dat.
Note on NoteFlag :see the document by Kholopov et al. (1985-1988).
Note on RAh, RAm, RAs, DE-, DEd, DEm, DEs :
   the position is not listed when the variable is equivalent to another
   catalogued variable ("=" in column Exists, byte 167).
Note on u_DEs :
  the real coordinates accuracy uses the symbols :
  (:) means right ascensions accurate to one second of time and
      declinations accurate to one tenth of an arcminute;
  (*) means declinations accurate to one arcminute.
  (') means right ascensions accurate to one minute of time and
      declinations accurate to one arcminute.
  (*) - in the column 54 means, that the coordinates that could
        not be improved were recalculated from old rough coordinates
        to the equinox J2000.0 with allowance for precession.
Note on n_magMax, n_magMin :Code for alternative photometric system.
  Field is non-blank if magMin is a magnitude or amplitude given in a
  system other than that indicated by magCode. An asterisk in the
  corresponding position means the amplitude measured in white light.
Note on magCode :the photometric system in which magMin and magMax are
  reported (see also Note on n_magMax, n_magMin). The main codes are P
  (photographic magnitudes) and V (visual, photovisual, or Johnson's V).
  See also the documents by Kholopov et al. (1985-1988) or Warren (1989).
  Several stars from the 68th Name-List have in these positions "1."
  designating the 1.04 micrometer band of the system introduced by
  G.W.Lockwood. The designations u,v,b,y refer to the Stroemgren system.
  The symbols "Ic" and "Rc" mean magnitudes in Cousins' I system.
  "g" designates magnitudes in the system of Thuan and Gunn;
  "T" stands for broad-band Tycho magnitudes formed from B and V
  measurements; "r" are red magnitudes not tied to a particular system.
Note on Epoch :Epochs are given for minimum light for all
  eclipsing and ellipsoidal variables, as well as for RV Tau and RS CVn
  types, and for maximum for all other types.  This rule may occasionally
  be broken, but this is explained only in the remarks to the catalog,
  which are not available in machine-readable form at this time.
  The epochs are Julian dates, with the starting figures 24... omitted;
  The only exception is WY Sge, where the complete epoch is JD 237249:.
Note on q_Epoch :the following codes are used (see also note on Epoch)  :
  ":" are used if the epoch is uncertain;
  "+" epoch may be later than that reported;
  "-" epoch may be earlier than that reported.
Note on l_Period :the following codes are used :
  ">" or "<" if period is a lower or upper limit, respectively.
  "(" :the period is the mean cycle time of a U Gem or recurrent nova
  (in this case, there is ")" in pos. 108).
Note on n_Period :the following codes are used :
  "*N" if the period may be a multiple of the quoted value;
  "/N" if the period may be a fraction of the quoted value;
  ")" - see the note on l_Period.
Note on M-m/D :this column holds the rising time (M-m) of intrinsic
  variables, or the duration of the eclipse (D) for eclipsing binaries.
  These values help to define the shape of the light curve.  The value is
  given in percentage of the period of the star.
Note on u_M-m/D :the "*" indicates that the duration of the light
  constancy phase at minimum light (d) for an eclipsing variable is equal
  to zero.
Note on Ref1, Ref2 :
  "00001" - if the main characteristics of the star were determined by
            the authors themselves.
  "00002" - "09148" -  Vol.  I  GCVS  (see Kholopov et al., 1985-1988).
  "09149" - "09558" -  Vol. II  GCVS
  "09559" - "10200" -  Vol. III GCVS
  "V 001" - "V 554" -  Vol.  V  GCVS (see file evs_ref.dat in v.zip)
  "67001" - "73381" -  Name-Lists Nos.67-73 (see file ref.dat in nl.zip)
  "  HIP"           -  The Special Name-List No.74 for Hipparcos
                       Variables.
  If no chart is available for the variable, but the star is contained in
  one of the Durchmusterung catalogs or the Hubble Space Telescope Guide
  Star Catalog, the corresponding abbreviation (BD, CPD, CoD, GSC, HIP)
  is given.
Note on Exists :the following codes are used in column Exists :
  "N" in byte 165 if the star does not exist.
  "=" in byte 165 appears in three cases.
  First, it is used if the variable is equivalent to another cataloged
  variable. In such case, after the "=" symbol, the alternative name
  of the variable follows, and all necessary information on the star is
  to be found under that alternative name.
  Second, it is used for all variables of the Name-Lists Nos.67-73, it
  is followed by the two-digit number of the Name-list and the four-digit
  number of the star in the Name-list, and the information for the star
  follows the format of the Name-lists (see above).
  Third, the "=" symbol may be followed by the star's name in the GCVS
  Vol. V (see the file v.zip, where the explanation of the designations
  is also given). This means that the star enters also Vol. V, and the
  information of Vol. V makes it possible to improve the data of Vols.
  I-III. In this case, the symbol "*" in column 178 means the presence
  of remarks in Vol. V.

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See also :
CDS II/214A  :The combined GCVS4.1 (Kholopov+, 1998)


References :

   Kholopov, P.N., Samus, N.N., Frolov, M.S., Goranskij, V.P., Gorynya, N.A.,
      Kireeva, N.N., Kukarkina, N.P., Kurochkin, N.E., Medvedeva, G.I.,
      Perova, N.B., and Shugarov, S.Yu. 1985-88, General Catalogue of
      Variable Stars, 4th edition, Volumes I-III,
      (Moscow, Nauka Publishing House)
   Warren, W.H., Jr. 1989, General Catalogue of Variable Stars,
      4th edition, Documentation for the Machine-Readable Version,
      NSSDC/WDC-A-R&S 88-23
================================================================================
(End)  N.N. Samus [Moscow Inst. Astron.], O.V. Durlevich [Sternberg
Astron. Inst., Moscow] 5-Dec-2001
