------------------------------------------------------------------- THE ASTRONOMER Electronic Circular No 2318 2007 Mar 21 15.46UT 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------- APPARENT NOVA IN OPHIUCHUS News has reached us from various sources, including VSNET and AAVSO of the discovery by Hideo Nishimura, Japan of a possible nova of magnitude 10.2 on two Kodak T-Max 400 films (limiting mag 12) of Mar. 19.812 UT using a Pentax 6x7 camera (+ 200-mm f/4.0 lens). The new object is located at: RA 17h 42m 49s DEC -23 40' 07'(2000). A photograph by Nishimura of Mar. 17.82UT shows nothing to a limit of about magnitude 11-12. K. Kadota confirmed the presence of the new object on Mar 20.756UT at magnitude 9.8 and measured end figures of: RA 44.00s DEC 35.1" (2000). No USNO A2.0 star has been found in this position. A spectrum of Mar 20.84UT by Naito and Narusawa with the 2.0-m NAYUTA telescope suggests this may be a "Fe-II"-type nova. Some aspects of the above were also extracted from CBET 900. Guy M Hurst