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THE ASTRONOMER Electronic Circular No 3059      2015 Feb 10 16.21UT
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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SUPERNOVA 2015E (KISS)
2015E   Jan 13.42   03 13 35.31  +00 15 03.1  17.0   1.4"W    0.8"N
Tomoki Morokuma et. al. on behalf of the Kiso Supernova Survey (KISS)
collaboration report the above discovery.
Nothing is seen at this position in an image taken on 2014 Dec. 23 or in the
previous Sloan Digital Sky Survey image. 

Ryosuke Itoh: low-resolution optical spectra of Jan. 13.56UT with the 1.5-m
Kanata telescope at the Higashi-Hiroshima Observatory and on Jan. 18.55 and
19.53 with the Line Imager and Slit Spectrograph on the 2.0-m Nayuta
telescope at the Nishi-Harima Observatory obtained.  Cross- correlation with
a library of supernova spectra via the SNID code shows a best fit with
type-Ia supernovae at z = 0.041.
CBET 4053 issued January 23

PKS 0716+71
Matthew Templeton, AAVSO, reports that the blazar PKS 0716+71 == 
S5 0716+71 is currently in a very bright active state, at a visual magnitude
of 12.1 as observed by G. Poyner on 2015 January 19.212.
The object was first noted in outburst by Arkharov et al. who noted the
object at an R-band magnitude of 12.4 on January 14, and brighter still at
R=11.8 on January 16.  The object was likely fainter than 13.5 through at
least 2015 January 13.9, with a visual fainter than of <13.5 reported by A.
Glez-Herrera (Ferrol, Spain).  The object was then observed in bright
outburst by Poyner, at a visual magnitude of 13.1 at 2015 January 16.965.
Several visual observations since then have put this blazar at or beyond its
historical range, including the following: 12.4, JD 2457040.2778 and
2457040.4097 (K. Wenzel, Germany); 12.2, JD 2457040.4736 (J. O'Neill,
Massachusetts, United States); 12.4, JD 2457041.2674 (Wenzel); 12.3, JD
2457041.3819 (Wenzel); and the 12.1 estimate by Poyner noted above.
PKS 0716+71 is located at the following (J2000) coordinates:
	RA: 07 21 53.44 , Dec: +71 20 36.4

ECLIPSE: SVALBARD
John Murrell: I found the following site that may be of interest to those
travelling to Svalbard for the eclipse (see also recent issues of 'The
Astronomer': http://www.yr.no/place/Norway/Svalbard/Longyearbyen/
current temperatures are -25 to -30 C !!
The web cams at the bottom of the page are beginning to show some signs of
lightning of the sky around midday for a couple of hours.

Guy M Hurst