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THE ASTRONOMER Electronic Circular No 2404      2007 Dec 22 11.13UT
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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UK CONTRIBUTIONS TO PARTICLE PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY
Further to the note on E-Circular 2403, many thanks to all those 
subscribers who have both added their name to the petition to the 
government and e-mailed the editor. The signatures to the petition have 
reached a staggering 7967, the highest for any of the current 95 science 
petitions.

(3673) LEVY
D. Pray, Carbuncle Hill Observatory, Greene, RI, U.S.A.; P. Pravec
and P. Kusnirak, Ondrejov Observatory; and R. Stephens, Goat Mountain 
Astronomical Research Station, Yucca Valley, CA, U.S.A., report on CBET 
1165 that photometric observations obtained during Dec. 5-9 reveal that 
minor planet (3673) is a binary system with an orbital period of 21.6 
hr. The primary shows a period of 2.6879hr, and it has a light curve 
amplitude of 0.13 mag, suggesting a nearly spheroidal shape.

SUPERNOVAE 2007sb-2007sn
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey II collaboration, report the discovery of 
thirteen type-Ia supernovae as designated above and all fainter than 
magnitude 20.

VARIABLE IN SERPENS
As a follow-up to E-Circular 2400, Elizabeth Waagen of the AAVSO advises 
that the variable appears to be a very bright IRAS source (IRAS 
18066-0722).  Yamaoka adds that it also appears to be catalogued by the 
2MASS project, and Waagen adds that the variable apparently is listed by 
the ASAS3 project as a variable varying from V = 13.7 to [15 with a 
light curve that is suggestive of a Mira-type variable with maximum 
around Dec. 5. Yamaoka also reports that a low-resolution spectrum was 
taken by K. Kinugasa and O. Hashimoto, Gunma Astronomical Observatory 
(GAO), on Nov. 24.35 UT with the GAO 1.5-m telescope, showing that this 
object is a very red star -- likely a Mira-type variable.

SUPERNOVA 2007so IN NGC 1109
Discovery by Madison and Li of a possible supernova (CBET 1168):
SN      2007 UT      R.A.  (2000.0)  Decl.    Mag.     Offset
2007so  Dec 13.31   02 47 43.13  +13 15 14.8  17.1   6.4"W  4.5"S

SUPERNOVA 2007sp IN ANONYMOUS GALAXY
Discovery by ROTSE collaboration of a possible supernova (CBET 1169):
SN      2007 UT      R.A.  (2000.0)  Decl.    Mag.     Offset
2007sp  Nov 14.50   12 04 42.29  +49 11 09.3  16.8  38.2"W, 2.4"S
A spectrum obtained on Dec. 13.45 with the 9.2-m Hobby-Eberly Telescope 
shows it to be a type-Ia supernova about two months after maximum light

SUPERNOVA 2007sq IN MCG -03-23-5
Discovery by Parisky and Li of a possible supernova (CBET 1170):
SN      2007 UT      R.A.  (2000.0)  Decl.    Mag.     Offset
2007sq  Dec  8.51   08 47 16.13  -20 01 27.6  17.9  10.6"W,41.5"N

Guy M Hurst