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    PR # 31034                                                                   
     RX J1802+1804 is a newly ROSAT detected AM Her binary which shows pro       
     nounced X-ray eclipses and dips. It has been optically identified wit       
     h a V=15 mag object which shows no optical eclipses. This and the pre       
     sence of a strong blackbody component strongly supports the AM Her na       
     ture. The ROSAT spectrum also clearly show the well-known bremsstrahl       
     ungs component, whose temperature, however, cannot be constrained. We       
      ask for a 80 ksec ASCA observation of this new,  bright AM Her varia       
     ble in order to 1) determine the temperature of  the hard component a       
     nd the corresponding white dwarf mass, 2) check  for spectral variati       
     ons along the orbital period to determine the accretion geometry.           
                                                                                 
                                                                                 
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