1994PASP..106..696A

New photoelectric photometry and new times of maximum light are reported for the delta Scuti-type star VZ Cancri. Times of maximum light available for the last five decades have been studied. The times of maximum from the last decade, however, indicate that the period has not been steadily increasing as believed until now. To allow for this discrepancy several interpretations of the O-C diagram are discussed. However, the scatter in the (O-C) residuals is large and it is difficult to favor a case between a sloping linear fit and a sinusoidal fit. The former indicates that the main period needs to be revised and a predicted value of 0.17836365 days is obtained. The later suggests the presence of an unseen companion whose nature and implications are briefly discussed. In either case it can be concluded that VZ Cnc is not undergoing any secular period variation. Other possibilities like abrupt period changes and long-term effects of non-linear combinations of short frequencies are discussed but found unrealistic.