------------------------------------------------------------------- THE ASTRONOMER Electronic Circular No 1351 1998 Oct 25 21.00UT 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------- SUPERNOVA 1998eg IN UGC 12133 Tom Boles' discovery image of this supernova has been posted on the TA web page. M. Salvo, A. Pastorello, L. Rizzi, and V. Buondi, Asiago Astrophysical Observatory, report that inspection of a preliminary spectrum (range 380-700 nm) obtained on Oct. 20.45 UT with the 1.82-m telescope (+ AFOSC) shows that SN 1998eg (V about 17.4) is a type-Ia supernova soon after maximum. The spectrum shows the 635.5-nm absorption of Si II typical of type-Ia supernovae. Given the redshift of the parent galaxy (7500 km/s), the expansion velocity deduced from the minimum of Si II (635.5 nm) is about 10 500 km/s. IAUC 7037 S. Jha, P. Garnavich, P. Challis, and R. Kirshner, Harvard- Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, report that a spectrum of SN 1998eg was obtained by P. Berlind on Oct. 24.1 UT with the F. L. Whipple Observatory 1.5-m telescope (+FAST spectrograph), showing it to be a type-Ia supernova near maximum brightness. The age determined from a fit to the observed spectral features (Riess et al. 1997, A.J. 114, 722) is 1 +/- 2 days after maximum light. The spectrum also exhibits redshifted narrow interstellar Na I D lines, implying significant extinction by dust in the host galaxy and yielding a recession velocity for the host galaxy of 7400 km/s. The expansion velocity of the supernova is 10 200 km/s, measured using the prominent Si II (rest 635.5 nm) feature. IAUC 7037 IP PEG This eclipsing dwarf nova is again in outburst. Time-resolved photometry of the eclipses would be particularly useful as part of a collaborative program with observers at Keele. Eclipses times for the next few days are given below. Note that the eclipses last for about 30 minutes. 25/10 22:36 26/10 2:24 6:12 10:00 13:47 17:35 21:23 27/10 1:11 4:59 8:46 12:34 16:22 20:10 23:58 COMET 1998 U3 E. Meyer (Linz, Austria) and J. Jahn (Bodenteich, Germany) report the discovery of a comet by Michael Jager on 16- and 9-min Technical Pan film exposures. Observers generally report a 1'-2' coma with condensation and a tail several arcmin long in p.a. 275-281 deg. The precise CCD positions below were reported following requests from the Bureau: 1998 UT R.A. (2000) Decl. m1 Observer Oct. 23.93 6 43.3 +41 31 12.5 Jager 24.85103 6 44 08.66 +41 32 51.0 14.1 Meyer 24.85591 6 44 08.98 +41 32 51.1 12 Pravec 24.89547 6 44 11.39 +41 32 53.1 13.0 Ticha 24.95534 6 44 14.95 +41 32 55.9 16 Mikuz 24.98812 6 44 16.86 +41 32 57.8 13.3 Kornos 25.18361 6 44 28.40 +41 33 04.6 Griffin 25.35451 6 44 38.14 +41 33 12.4 Kowalski 25.35865 6 44 38.54 +41 33 11.7 13.9 Bell 25.54384 6 44 49.63 +41 33 16.8 13.3 Asami 25.55625 6 44 50.39 +41 33 17.0 12.9 Abe 25.58280 6 44 51.92 +41 33 17.9 12.8 Kojima 25.58866 6 44 52.26 +41 33 18.2 Aoki 25.68134 6 44 57.69 +41 33 23.5 13.1 Sugie 25.70081 6 44 58.73 +41 33 23.2 12.9 Ikari IAUC 7038 Nick James.