------------------------------------------------------------------- THE ASTRONOMER Electronic Circular No 1404 1999 May 02 08.45UT 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 1999bx IN UGC 11391 A. Friedman and W. Li, University of California at Berkeley, on behalf of the Lick Observatory Supernova Search, reports the discovery with the 0.8-m Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope (KAIT) of an apparent supernova in UGC 11391. SN 1999bx was discovered on an unfiltered image taken on Apr. 26.5 UT (mag about 16.5) and confirmed on Apr. 27.5 under poor seeing conditions. The new star is located at R.A. = 19h01m41s.44, Decl. = +40o44'52".3 (2000). The host galaxy, UGC 11391, has a peculiar appearance (two nuclei) and may be an interacting galaxy pair. The supernova is sitting in the middle of the western ridge that connects the two nuclei, and is about 2".2 west and 14".9 north of the southern nucleus. IAUC 7154 (extract) V4444 SAGITTARII = NOVA SAGITTARII 1999 We understand from an announcement made by the GCVS team in Moscow that it is now their policy to name unusual objects such as novae almost immediately the discovery and nature of such objects have been established. The above is therefore the new name for the object reported by us on E1403. SUPERNOVA 1999by IN NGC 2841 A new apparent supernova has been reported independently by Ron Arbour, South Wonston, Hampshire, England, and by the Lick Observatory Supernova Search. The LOSS team report that SN 1999by was found and confirmed on unfiltered CCD images taken with the 0.8-m Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope (KAIT) on Apr. 30.2 (mag about 15.7) and May 1.2 UT (mag about 15.0). Arbour's unfiltered CCD discovery image (limiting mag about 17.5), taken on Apr. 30.8749 with a 0.3-m f/6.3 Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector in the course of his supernova patrol, yields an estimate of the new star's magnitude to be 15.1 and its offset to be 96" west and 86" north of the centre of NGC 2841. Arbour forwards the following position obtained by M. Armstrong from an image obtained on Apr. 30.904: R.A. = 9h21m52s.07, Decl. = +51o00'06".6 (2000). Papenkova et al. provide position end figures 52s.18, 07".2, which is about 100" west and 91" north of the galaxy nucleus; they add that there is a bright star (mag about 11.1) located 11".7 west and 29".5 north of the supernova. A KAIT image of the same field on Apr. 25.2 (limiting mag about 19.3) showed nothing at the position of the new star. Arbour found a prediscovery image taken on Apr. 28.8786 that shows SN 1999by at mag about 16.0-16.5, though the supernova was not visible on images taken on Apr. 10, 14, 22, 23, or 27 (limiting mag about 17.5). Papenkova et al. note that NGC 2841 is a well-known Sb galaxy and the host of three past supernovae (1912A, 1957A, 1972R), and they urge spectroscopic and photometric observations for this early and potentially bright supernova. IAUC 7156 (extract) Guy M Hurst