-------------------------------------------------------------------
THE ASTRONOMER Electronic Circular No 2292      2006 Dec 23 15.59UT
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
-------------------------------------------------------------------
MESSIER 31 NOVA CANDIDATE
A. Riffeser, S. Wilke, C. Ries (University Observatory Munich) report on 
The Astronomer's Telegram No. 971 their discovery of a possible nova in 
Messier 31 on 2006 Dec. 20.857 UT of magnitude 17.8. The position is:
RA 00h 42m 21.09s DEC +41 13' 45.3" (2000) on two 300-sec R-filtered CCD 
images obtained with the 0.8-m Ritchey-Chretien f/12.4 telescope at 
Wendelstein Observatory, Germany.

Previous measurements show that the source was already present on 2006 
Dec. 15.943 UT at magnitude 19.6 but absent on 2006 Dec.14.88 UT to a 
limit of magnitude 21.7 in R.

OT_J055718++683226: DWARF NOVA IN CAM?
M. Uemura and A. Arai, Hiroshima University, report on CBET 777 that 
they performed a time-series observation of this new variable (cf TA 
E-Circular 2290) between Dec.18.5635 and 18.7895 UT with the "KANATA" 
1.5-m telescope at Higashi-Hiroshima Observatory. The object was at V = 
15.17 and J = 15.01 on Dec. 18.65324 and 18.65181, respectively.

The light curves clearly show periodic modulations with amplitudes of 
about 1.2 mag in both the V and J bands.  The period is estimated to be 
0.0530(3) day.  In conjunction with the blue colour (V-J = +0.16), this 
observation strongly indicates that it is a SU UMa-type dwarf nova, with 
the observed modulations being uperhumps. The superhump period is the 
shortest among known systems.

SUPERNOVAE 2006qs-2006sq
Fifty-one supernovae discoveries have been reported on IAUC 8784. Of 
these 2006qs-2006ry were by the "Nearby Supernova Collaboration", 2006rz 
by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey II and 2006sa-2006sq by the ESSENCE 
project Those objects brighter than mag 18.8 at discovery are listed 
below.

SN      2006 UT     R.A.  (2000.0)  Decl.    Mag.     Offset
2006qw  Oct. 21.5   3 08 46.88  +18 56 26.0  17.9      -
2006rb  Oct. 24.2  23 35 25.09  + 7 06 46.4  17.7      -
2006rk  Nov.  6.4   7 16 24.51  +27 37 25.5  16.1      -
2006rp  Nov.  9.5   4 09 05.52  +34 38 15.6  18.3      -
2006rs  Nov. 11.2   0 33 09.13  -13 27 16.2  16.5      -

SUPERNOVA 2006sr IN UGC 14
Discovery by D. Rich (USA) of a possible supernova (IAUC 8784):
SN      2006 UT      R.A.  (2000.0)  Decl.    Mag.     Offset
2006sr  Dec. 12.95  00 03 35.02  +23 11 46.2  17.4    2.5"W, 16.6"S

Guy M Hurst