------------------------------------------------------------------- THE ASTRONOMER Electronic Circular No 1084 1996 May 28 16.44UT Ed:Guy M Hurst, 16,Westminster Close, Kempshott Rise, Basingstoke, Hants, RG22 4PP,England. Telephone/FAX(0256)471074 Int:+44256471074 INTERNET: GUY@TAHQ.DEMON.CO.UK GMH at AST.STAR.RL.AC.UK WORLD WIDE WEB http://www.demon.co.uk/astronomer ------------------------------------------------------------------- SUPERNOVA 1996ad IN ANONYMOUS GALAXY Gordon Garradd and Robert McNaught report the discovery by R.Evans of an apparent supernova found on a U.K. Schmidt film taken on May 9.56 UT by M. Drinkwater. McNaught notes that the new star is close to the galaxy's centre (2" east, 1" north) and difficult to see; he measured SN 1996ad (mag 18.5) on the discovery film: R.A. = 15h59m05s.91, Decl. = +19o48'08".1 (equinox 2000.0). L.Germany (Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories) reports that the new star is present at V about 18.5 on images taken with the 1-m telescope on May 17.4. A U.K. Schmidt film taken on May 25.6 by D. M. James and M. Hartley shows that SN 1996ad had faded about 1 mag or more and is present only as an extension of the nucleus to the northeast. SN 1996ad is not present on earlier U.K. Schmidt films taken on 1995 July 18 and Aug. 29. McNaught further notes that the host galaxy normally shows a near-stellar nucleus, whereas at discovery there was clearly an additional stellar image adjacent to the nucleus. IAUC 6408 (extract) SUPERNOVA 1996ae IN NGC 5775 Further to our announcement on E1083 yesterday, the new object in NGC 5775 has now been announced by the Central Bureau and designated 1996ae. The confirmation by Mark Armstrong, Terry Platt and David Strange was also included on IAUC 6409: A. Vagnozzi, G. Piermarini, and V. Russo, S. Lucia Observatory, report their discovery of an apparent supernova (mag 16.5) in NGC 5775, found on a CCD image exposed on May 21.951 UT; they provide the following position for the new star: R.A. = 14h53m59s.81, Decl.= +3o31'46".3 (equinox 2000.0), which is about 31" east and 54" south of the centre of NGC 5775. Confirmatory images (limiting stellar mag about 19.5) were taken at S. Lucia Observatory on May 21.969, 21.976, 22.903, and 23.939, and by A. Nakamura at Kuma, Ehime, Japan, on May 24.649. G. Hurst, The Astronomer, reports that the object is also present on CCD images obtained on May 25.9-26.0 near mag about 17 by M. Armstrong (Rolvenden, U.K.), D.Strange (Dorset, U.K.), and T. Platt (Binfield, U.K.); the new star is not present on the Carnegie Atlas of Galaxies, panel 289. Guy M Hurst