X-shooter spectral energy distribution of the bright state is shown in red. The red triangles show the WISE flux obtained in March 2014, when RW Aur A was in a bright state, assuming that half of the flux is contributed by RW Aur B, which is included in the WISE beam. The green curves show the photosphere, approximated by a black-body with T = 4900 K and L = 1 L_⊙, and the total emission of the photosphere plus an additional black-body at T = 1180 K and Area = ~5.6 × 10²⁴ cm². The X-shooter spectrum in the dim state is shown in black. The black triangles arethe WISE fluxes, computed assuming that RW Aur B does not vary during the period of the observations. The blue curves show the photosphere and the best-fitting model of the bright state emission reddened according to the extinction curve derived in Sect. 3.3.