Time-resolved spectroscopy of the peculiar H alpha variable Be star HD 76534

We present time-resolved spectroscopy of the Be star HD 76534, which was ob served to have an H alpha outburst in 1995, when the line went from photosp heric absorption to emission at a level of more than two times the continuu m within 2.5 hours. To investigate the short-term behaviour of the spectrum of HD 76534 we have obtained 30 spectra within two hours real-time and sea rched for variations in the spectrum. Within the levels of statistical sign ificance, no variability was found. Rather than periodic on short time scal es, the Ha behaviour seems to be commonly episodic on longer (> 1 year) tim e scales, as an assessment of the existing data on the Her line and the Hip parcos photometry suggests. HD 76534 underwent only 1 photometric outburst in the 3 year span that the star was monitored by the Hipparcos satellite.