AN ECLIPSE IN THE QUADRUPLE-PERIOD INTERMEDIATE POLAR TV COLUMBAE

CCD photometry of the intermediate polar TV Col reveals a previously unnoticed eclipse recurring with the 5.5-hr cycle, confirming that this is the binary period. The secondary partially occults the accretion disc but, since there is no X-ray eclipse, does not eclipse the primary. We deduce a system inclination of 70-degrees and an accretion disc radius of approximately 0.3 of the binary separation. The eclipse could be used to detect the disc precession proposed to account for the anomalous 5.2-hr and 4-d periods.