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THE ASTRONOMER Electronic Circular No 1611      2001 Feb 26 17.05UT
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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NOVA SAGITTARII 2001 (Q2001/008)
On Feb 24 am e-mail was received from Bill Liller in Chile advising
that he had recorded a possible nova in Sagittarius on photographs
with a 85mm lens obtained on Feb 24. The object, of magnitude 7.7,
was at: RA 17h 54.7m DEC -26 14'(2000). A further e-mail, received
today, from Albert Jones in New Zealand, confirms the presence of
the object on 2001 Feb 25.627UT at visual magnitude 8.9. It is
not clear whether the difference in reported magnitudes is a real
fade or caused by comparing 'Tech Pan + orange filter' (Liller)
with the visual (Jones).

The following IAUC has subsequently appeared:

William Liller, Vina del Mar, Chile, reports his discovery of
a nova (mag 7.7) on Tech Pan photographs taken on Feb. 24.369 and
24.371 UT with an 85-mm camera lens (+ orange filter).  His
position for the variable star was measured from CCD frames
obtained on Feb. 25.388 with a 0.2-m f/1.5 Schmidt camera:  R.A. =
17h54m40s.46, Decl. = -26o14'15".2 (equinox 2000.0).  Nothing
brighter than mag 11.0 appears at this location on photographs
taken by Liller on Feb. 14.  Liller adds that a low-dispersion CCD
objective-prism spectrogram shows a broad H-alpha emission line
about 3.3 times brighter than the surrounding continuum; broad
emission features are also seen centered on 487.9 and 504.3 nm.
Position end figures measured by J. Broughton, Reedy Creek,
Queensland, from an unfiltered CCD image taken with a 0.25-m f/6.6
reflector on Feb. 25.710:  40s.43, 15".8 (mag 7.9).

K. Ayani and T. Kawabata, Bisei Astronomical Observatory, confirm
Liller's variable to be a nova:  ``We obtained a low-
resolution spectrum (instrumental FWHM = 0.6 nm; range 470-800 nm)
of N Sgr 2001 on Feb. 25.88 UT with the Bisei 1.01-m telescope.
Strong and broad H-alpha and H-beta emission lines and a broad
emission feature at 784 nm (O I 777.3-nm plus perhaps Mg II 789.0-
nm) are prominent.  Fitting a gaussian, we estimate equivalent
width 45 nm and FWHM = 4700 km/s for the H-alpha line."
IAUC 7589

Guy M Hurst