  The eclipsing and strongly interacting binary star system R Arae (HD149730)
is in a very active and very short-lived stage of its evolution. R Ara consists
of a B9V primary and an unknown secondary. We have collected the International
Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) archival data on R Ara, with most of the data being
studied for the first time. There are 117 high resolution IUE spectra taken in
1980, 1982, 1985, 1989, and 1991. We provide photometric and spectroscopic
evidence for mass transfer and propose a geometry for the accretion structure.
We use colour scale radial velocity plots to view the complicated behavior of
the blended absorption features and to distinguish the motions of hotter and
cooler regions within the system. We observed a primary eclipse of R Ara in
2008 and have verified that its period is increasing. A model of the system and
its evolutionary status is presented.
