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THE ASTRONOMER Electronic Circular No 2598      2009 Nov 26 10.22UT
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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POSSIBLE NOVA IN ERIDANUS
K. Itagaki of Yamagata, Japan has reported on CBET 2050 his discovery of 
a possible magnitude 8.1 nova on 2009 Nov. 25.536 UT with his 0.21-m 
patrol system.  A confirming image by him on Nov. 25.545 with a 0.60-m 
reflector shows the object at:
RA 04h 47m 54.21s DEC-10 10' 43.1"(2000).  Itagaki notes that there is a 
faint (mag about 15) object near this position on his archival patrol 
images.

Yamaoka suggests that it might be the brightening of a mag 15 blue star 
that is contained in many catalogues (USNO-B1.0 position end figures 
54.19s, 42.9"), though the suggested amplitude of seven magnitudes is 
perhaps rather large for a dwarf nova but small for a rapid classical 
nova.  Yamaoka adds that the ASAS-3 system (Pojmanski 2002, Acta. 
Astron. 52, 397) also detected this object at the following V 
magnitudes:  2009 Nov. 10.236UT, [14.0:; 19.241, 7.34; 22.179, 7.98; 
24.269, 8.12.

The AAVSO advise on special notice 181 that finder charts for this 
object may be plotted using VSP by entering the coordinates into the 
form at the URL http://www.aavso.org/observing/charts/vsp/.

An e-mail was received at TAHQ today at 10h24mUT during preparation of 
this circular from Ernesto Guido and Giovanni Sostero. They advise that 
using the 0.25-m, f/3,4 reflector + CCD, from GRAS Observatory (near 
Mayhill, NM) they confirmed the presence of the optical transient on Nov 
26.36UT at magnitude 8.2 based on using an unfiltered CCD. They derived 
the following position (UCAC2 Catalogue reference stars)

RA 04h 47m 54.12s DEC -10 10' 43.1" (2000)

They add that a comparison with a DSS red plate (limiting magnitude 
about 20), obtained on 1990, Nov. 23, shows the proximity of a mag 15 
star to the position of the possible nova in Eri.

Guy M Hurst