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THE ASTRONOMER Electronic Circular No 2806      2012 Mar 15 20.38UT
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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EDITOR'S ABSENCE
The editor needs to attend a meeting in York and will be away from 
Friday morning March 16 and will return late on Sunday evening March 18.

During that period if there are any potential discoveries or any other 
urgent matters concerning 'The Astronomer' please contact Nick James who 
has kindly agreed to deputise for me. The easiest way is to e-mail 
ndj@nickdjames.com but please also send a copy at the same time to the 
editor's mailbox for review on my return.

SUPERNOVA 2012ai IN NGC 2755 (RICH)
2012ai  Feb 20.12   09 07 58.83  +41 42 19.9  18.3   5.9"E,  12.1"S

Ron Arbour, South Wonston advises us that he has a pre-discovery image 
of this object on an exposure of 2012 Feb. 18.89 at magnitude  17.7 
(unfiltered)using a 0.35-m f/6 reflector. An image appears on the covers 
of the March issue of 'The Astronomer' with further mention in the cover 
notes. Ron reports position end figures 58s.82, 19".3).

S. Benetti et. a., report that a spectrogram of 2012 Feb. 22.88UT 
indicates that it is a type-II supernova.  Comparison with a library of 
supernovae spectra via GELATO gives a best fit with type-II supernovae 
soon after explosion, assuming a recession velocity for the host galaxy 
of 7543 km/s.

SUPERNOVA 2012aj (NEWTON & PUCKETT)
2012aj  Feb 21.49   16 27 03.96  +51 36 49.8  16.9   7.4"W,   0.1"S
Puckett has posted an image of 2012aj at URL 
http://www.possdata.com/PSNJ16270396+5136498.jpg.
G. H. Marion: spectrum Feb 22 type-Ia more than two weeks after maximum 
light. A good fit is found to the template of the normal type-Ia 
supernova 1995D at +16 days and z = 0.031.

Guy M Hurst