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THE ASTRONOMER Electronic Circular No 1283      1998 Mar 24 00.00UT
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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POSSIBLE NOVA IN SAGITTARIUS
     W. Liller, Vina del Mar, Chile, reports his discovery of an
apparent nova (mag 7.8) on Technical Pan photographs taken with
PROBLICOM on Mar. 22.3628, 22.3642, and 22.3663 UT with an 85-mm
camera lens (+ orange filter).  The star is located at R.A. =
18h21m.6, Decl. = -27o32' (equinox 2000.0).  Nothing brighter than
mag 11.5 appears at this location on two photographs taken on Mar.
18.35.  On Mar. 23.316, the CCD magnitude was measured by Liller as
V = 7.74.  A low-resolution spectrogram obtained with a 0.20-m
Schmidt camera (+ objective prism + CCD) on Mar. 23 shows H-alpha
in emission at a level about 1.5 times brighter than the
surrounding continuum.

Martin Mobberley

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