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THE ASTRONOMER Electronic Circular No 2196      2006 Jan 29 13.26UT
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      Backup: gmh@wdcc1.bnsc.rl.ac.uk
WORLD WIDE WEB                         http://www.theastronomer.org
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COMET P/2000 EC_98 = (60558)
Giovanni Sostero and Ernesto Guido have advised TA of the detection of a 
coma around this object by remotely using the 0.25-m Schmidt-Cassegrain 
telescope in New Mexico on 2006 Jan 10.49UT.

They estimated the magnitude as 14.1 and the coma diameter as 0.9 arc 
minutes.

In a subsequent e-mail they provide further magnitude estimates with a V 
filter: Jan. 12.49UT, 14.5; 13.51, 14.6; 24.41, 14.7

OPTICAL TRANSIENT TSS J004150.4+404222 IN MESSIER 31
R. Quimby et. al, (University of Texas), and A. Shafter (SDSU) report on 
Astronomical Telegram 701, their discovery of an optical transient near 
Messier 31 using unfiltered CCD images taken on 2006 Jan 5.08 UT (about 
17.2 mag) and Jan 9.08 (about 16.9 mag) using the 0.45m ROTSE-IIIb 
telescope at the McDonald Observatory.

The object is located at RA 00h 41m 50.42s DEC +40 42' 22.5" (2000) 
which is 10' 7.7" W and 33'46.0" S of the core of M31. TSS 
J004150.4+404222 was not detected in ROTSE-IIIb data from 2005 Dec 31.08 
UT (limiting mag about 17.8). The transient increased in brightness 
irregularly for 10 days, reaching about 15.9 mag on 2006 Jan 14.08, and 
then faded to about 17.0 mag on Jan 19.09. The light curve suggests the 
object may be a nova or a bright, unusual variable star such as a 
Luminous Blue Variable.

Finding Chart for TSS J004150.4+404222 can be found at: 
http://grad40.as.utexas.edu/~quimby/tss/nova8.png

SUPERNOVA 2006G IN NGC 521
Discovery by LOSS of a possible supernova (IAUC 8660):
SN      2005 UT      R.A.  (2000.0)  Decl.    Mag.     Offset
2006G   Jan. 13.15  01 24 35.83  +01 43 15.8  17.5  32.4"E, 38.3"S

SUPERNOVA 2006H IN ANONYMOUS GALAXY
Discovery by Puckett and Sostero of a possible supernova (IAUC 8660):
SN      2005 UT      R.A.  (2000.0)  Decl.    Mag.     Offset
2006H   Jan. 15.05  03 26 01.49  +40 41 42.5  17.0   4.7"E,  2.2"N
The host galaxy is itself near UGC 2730.

Guy M Hurst