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THE ASTRONOMER Electronic Circular No 1983      2004 Mar 24 20.13UT
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.theastronomer.org
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SUPERNOVA 2004aw IN NGC 3997
On March 20 we received an e-mail from Tom Boles of Coddenham, England 
in which he reported his detection on a single night of a possible 
supernova in NGC 3997 at magnitude 17.1. It was recorded on an 
unfiltered CCD image taken on Mar 19.851 UT with a 0.35-m reflector. 
The new object is located at:
RA 11h 57m 50.24s DEC +25 15' 55.1" (2000), which is approximately 27".7 
E and 19.8"S of the galaxy's centre.

The suspect is not present on Tom's images from 2003 Apr 2 and May 07 
(limiting mag 19.5) and it is also not recorded on DSS II red (1996.372) 
or blue plates (1996.124).

An independent discovery has also been reported on IAUC 8310 by K. 
Itagaki, Japan, using a 0.60-m reflector. End figures for this discovery 
on March 20.51UT are: RA 50.26s, DEC 55.1".

Tom Boles has also drawn our attention to a report from Tom Matheson et. 
al., Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, that a spectrum (range 
370-750 nm) obtained by P. Berlind on Mar. 21.29UT with the F. L. 
Whipple Observatory 1.5-m telescope (+ FAST spectrograph), shows it to 
be a supernova of type I, but the exact classification is uncertain. 
The spectrum has peaks near 400, 450,
505, 570, and 710 nm; there is an absorption feature near 610 nm.
The spectrum shows a strong similarity with both the type-Ia supernova 
2001V at day -14 and the peculiar type-Ic supernova
2003jd at early times.

Given the object may have not reached maximum, further observations are 
encouraged.

The object was subsequently announced on IAUC 8310 and designated 
supernova 2004aw. Congratulations to Tom on the discovery of his 62nd 
supernova.

Guy M Hurst