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THE ASTRONOMER Electronic Circular No 1209      1997 Jul 06 08.44UT
Ed:Guy M Hurst, 16,Westminster Close, Kempshott Rise,  Basingstoke,
Hants, RG22 4PP,England.Telephone/FAX(01256)471074Int:+441256471074
INTERNET: GUY@TAHQ.DEMON.CO.UK             GMH at AST.STAR.RL.AC.UK
WORLD WIDE WEB                    http://www.demon.co.uk/astronomer
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MARS
M. Gaskell, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of
Nebraska, reports that possible dust activity was detected in the
Ascraeus-Ceraunius region near the Martian evening limb on June
26.09 UT. The detection was made using a 0.20-m reflector at 475x
and a red W25 filter.  Similar observations on June 28.1, 29.1,
30.1 and July 1.1 suggested that the dust continued, roughly along
the equator, to the Chryse region.
Richard McKim, British Astronomical Association, remarks that
similar dust storms in the Ceraunius region were seen at the
identical season in 1935 and 1978.
IAUC 6693

SUPERNOVA 1997cs IN ANONYMOUS GALAXY
J. Mueller reports her discovery of a supernova (mag about 17)
on a IV-N plate taken on June 26 UT with the 1.2-m Oschin Schmidt
Telescope in the course of the second Palomar Sky Survey.  S. Jha,
P. Garnavich, P. Challis, and R. Kirshner, Harvard-Smithsonian
Center for Astrophysics, report that a spectrogram of SN 1997cs,
taken by D. Koranyi on June 30.29 UT at the Whipple Observatory
1.5-m telescope, shows this to be a type-IIn supernova with
moderately broad Balmer emission (1800 km/s FWHM), along with He I
emission at 587.5 and 706.5 nm.  Blended emission lines of
permitted Fe II are also visible.  The supernova is at redshift
0.037, based on emission lines of the host galaxy.  Images taken
concurrently by M. Gomez with the 1.2-m telescope yield magnitude V
= 17.4.  G. V. Williams provides the following precise position for
the supernova from one of the Gomez images:  R.A. = 15h13m39s.78,
Decl. = +2 53'44".5 (equinox 2000.0; uncertainty +/- 0".4); the
corresponding offset is 18".1 east and 1".2 north of the galaxy's
centre.
IAUC 6689

SUPERNOVA 1997ct IN ANONYMOUS GALAXY
J. Mueller reports her discovery of a supernova (mag about 17)
located 8".7 east and 4" south of the centre of a galaxy at R.A. =
14h07m24s, Decl. = +70o26'.1 (equinox 2000.0).  SN 1997ct was found
on a IV-N plate taken on June 29 with the 1.2-m Oschin Schmidt
Telescope by Mueller and J. D. Mendenhall in the course of the
second Palomar Sky Survey.  No object appears at the position on
the digitized sky survey or on a red sky survey plate taken on 1991
June 7.  An uncalibrated spectrogram taken on July 1 by S. R.
Kulkarni, J. C. Clemens, A. Sivaramakrishnan, and D. A. Frail with
the Hale 5-m telescope (+ double spectrograph) shows the object to
be a supernova.
IAUC 6690

SUPERNOVA 1997cu IN ANONYMOUS GALAXY
The Mount Stromlo Abell Cluster Supernova Search Team reports the
discovery of an apparent supernova (V = 18.2, R = 18.0) on CCD
images taken on July 4 by S. Sabine at the Mount Stromlo 1.27-m
telescope (+ Macho Camera).  SN 1997cu is located near Abell 3128
at R.A. = 3h29m03s.0, Decl. = -52d41'41".1 (2000), within 1" of
its high-surface-brightness host.  SN 1997cu was not present on
similar frames taken on Feb. 25 to R = 20.
IAUC 6694

Guy M Hurst