------------------------------------------------------------------- THE ASTRONOMER Electronic Circular No 2141 2005 Aug 19 12.11UT 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------- SUPERNOVA 2005dj IN UGC 3545 Tom Boles, Coddenham, England e-mailed us on August 18 to report that he had detected a magnitude 16.6 apparent supernova in the galaxy UGC 3545 during the course of the UK Nova/Supernova Patrol searches. The object was noted on an unfiltered CCD image of 2005 Aug. 18.086UT obtained with a 0.35-m Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. It is located at: RA 06h 49m 58.41s DEC +61 37' 08.5" (2000), which is approximately 20".0 E and 16".5 S of the centre of the host galaxy. The suspect is not present on Tom's images from 2005 Jan 2 and April 3 (limiting mag 19.5) and it is not present on DSS II red (1998.878 limiting mag 21.0), nor blue plates (1995.913 limiting mag 20.0) In a further e-mail received today, Tom reports securing confirmatory images centred on August 19.001UT generating end figures of RA 58s.40 and DEC 8".4 and a similar magnitude. A provisional announcement on CBET 201 has been made by Dan Green at the Central Bureau in which a designation of 'supernova 2005dj' has been assigned but an IAUC is awaited. Subject to confirmation this will be the 90th supernova found by Tom. V1188 SCORPII = NOVA SCORPII 2005 The object announced on TA E-Circular 2133 has been confirmed as a classical nova by H. Naito and N. Tokimasa of Japan who secured a spectrum on July 27.6UT. N. N. Samus of the Institute of Astronomy, Russian Academy of Sciences, advises the designation V1188 Sco has been assigned to this nova. VARIABLE STAR NEAR IC 1309 N. J. Ponticello and R. J. Foley report the LOSS discovery of a variable star (possible supernova) of mag 17.2 near IC 1309 on KAIT images of Aug. 2.30 and 3.31UT. It is located at: RA 20h 03m 00.24s DEC -17 12' 11.4" (2000), which is 17.5"W and 103.4" N of the nucleus of IC 1309 according to CBET 190. Guy M Hurst