Five years of photometry of Lambda Andromedae

Photoelectric photometry of the bright variable RS CVn-type binary Lambda And obtained in 1977-78 and 1980-81 is presented and used, together with earlier photometry, to derive the photometric period and discuss the changing shape of the light curve. The best ephemeris for times of minimum light is 2443829.2 + 53.95 d E. Because times of minimum and maximum extending back to those of Calder in 1933-37 can be phased together properly, the principal dark region must have maintained its identity for almost 50 yr. Over the last five years the brightness range has been between 3.70 and 4.05 m. During 1980-81 shallow secondary minima developed at phases where maxima occurred in previous years. Lambda And remains the only well-established case of nonsynchronous rotation among the known RS CVn variables.