DETECTION OF A PHOTOMETRIC PERIOD IN THE NONECLIPSING BINARY HR-8800 - TOWARDS A BETTER DESCRIPTION OF THE SYSTEM

High precision photometry has allowed light variations to be detected in the spectroscopic binary HR 8800, with the same well known orbital period. It is shown that the phase and light variation range are coher ent with a reflexion of the primary's light on the secondary. Although at the very limit of detection, an overmodulation of the visible ligh t curve could be due to the variable geometric appearance of the secon dary.