Photoelectric and spectroscopic observations of the binary star VV8=V471 Per over the period 1971 2007

We present our photoelectric observations of the binary star VV8=V471 Per over the period 1971 2007. A long-term photometric variability with a period of about 17 yr in the V and B bands has been confirmed. A systematic rise in brightness was recorded in the U band, suggesting that the gas ionization increases in the binary system. Our spectroscopic observations from 1995 to 2007 have shown that the emission line fluxes, on average, did not change compared to the data of other authors obtained in the previous decades. We have shown that the cool giant is a G5III star and is probably enriched with nucleosynthesis products from the evolved former primary component of the binary. We provide arguments for the hypothesis that the hot component in V471 Per is the massive nucleus of a young planetary nebula that rapidly evolved to a temperature of 65 000 75 000 K, while the surrounding nebula is very dense and optically thick and has not yet been entirely ionized.