Emission activity of the Be star 28 CMa: entering a new cycle?

A new major emission phase of the southern Be star 28 CMa is reported. It manifests itself as a brightening by more than 0.4m in the V band and a drop of the Balmer line emission. The spectroscopic behaviour fits the outburst scheme derived for mu Cen, but takes place on a much longer time scale, thereby making 28 CMa an ideal target for detailed studies of Be star outbursts. On this basis, some spectroscopic phenomena expected to appear within a few months are mentioned.