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THE ASTRONOMER Electronic Circular No 2206      2006 Mar 03 16.54UT
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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GRB 060218 = SUPERNOVA 2006aj
N. Gehrels, GSFC, on behalf of the SWIFT team, points out on GCN 4787 
that GRB 060218 is a strange event. It has - a gamma-ray light curve 
that is flat and a soft spectrum - an X-ray light curve with a long, 
slow rise and gradual decline  - an optical light curve with brightening 
after 10 hours (Marshall et al. GCN 4785). These characteristics are 
unlike previous GRBs. It has properties that are also atypical of a 
transient: - it is far off the galactic plane (b = -32.9 deg) and far 
away from the bulge (l = 166.9 deg) - there is a possible association 
with a galaxy in the SDSS pre-burst field.
A. M. Soderberg, et. al., Caltech reports on GCN 4804 on an optical 
spectrum of the afterglow with GMOS on the Gemini-south telescope 
starting on 2006 Feb 21.024 UT. They confirm the presence of narrow 
emission lines at z=0.033, as well as the presence of broad absorption 
features similar to those seen in SN1998bw and other broad-lined Type 
Ibc supernovae.
Jan-Erik Ovaldsen reports on GCN 4818 that observations with DFOSC on 
the Danish 1.5m telescope at La Silla/ESO show the optical afterglow + 
SN 2006aj has brightened by 0.2 (+/- 0.01) mag in R and 0.1 (+/- 0.02) 
mag in V from Feb 21.03 UT to Feb 22.03 UT. An optical brightening is in 
line with the notion that the underlying SN 2006aj has still to reach 
its maximum, as noted in previous reports.

Editor: Following the nomination of this object by Julie Chignell at 
last Saturday's BAA Workshop in Milton Keynes for possible imaging with 
the Faulkes Telescope but thwarted by cloud, Nick James reports 
successfully imaging it on 2006 Feb 28 at 19.01UT. He estimated it at 
magnitude 17.6 (unfiltered) confirming the brightening.

SUPERNOVA 2006ae IN ANONYMOUS GALAXY
Discovery by SDSS Collaboration of a possible supernova (IAUC 8674):
SN      2005 UT      R.A.  (2000.0)  Decl.    Mag.     Offset
2006ae  Feb.  2.51  14 48 23.27  +21 47 51.5  20.7     Centre

SUPERNOVA 2006af IN ANONYMOUS GALAXY
Discovery by SDSS Collaboration of a possible supernova (IAUC 8674):
SN      2005 UT      R.A.  (2000.0)  Decl.    Mag.     Offset
2006af  Feb.  4.38  10 33 57.18  +20 20 25.7  19.5     Centre

SUPERNOVA 2006ag IN ANONYMOUS GALAXY
Discovery by the Nearby Supernova factory of a possible supernova (IAUC 
8674):
SN      2005 UT      R.A.  (2000.0)  Decl.    Mag.     Offset
2006ag  Feb.  9.4   12 00 17.12  +28 36 22.0  17.9      -

SUPERNOVA 2006ah IN ANONYMOUS GALAXY
Discovery by the Nearby Supernova factory of a possible supernova (IAUC 
8674):
SN      2005 UT      R.A.  (2000.0)  Decl.    Mag.     Offset
2006ah  Feb.  9.6   13 46 13.71  -09 07 50.6  18.6      -

SUPERNOVA 2006ai IN ESO 5-G9
Discovery by Luckas, Trondal and Schwartz of a possible supernova (IAUC 
8674):
SN      2005 UT      R.A.  (2000.0)  Decl.    Mag.     Offset
2006ai  Feb. 17.54  07 29 52.16  -84 02 20.5  16.2   2.5"W,  1.8"S
Guy M Hurst