Possible Nova in Sagittarius

CBET circular No. 2140, issued on January 23, 2010, announces the discovery by John Seach (NSW, Australia) of a possible nova in Sagittarius (mag 8.5) on three 6-s CCD exposures (limiting mag 11) obtained on Jan. 20.22 UT with a Nikon D300 camera (+ 50-mm f/1.4 lens + orange filter).

The object is located at (position provided by S. Kiyota):

R.A. = 18h07m26s.79, Decl. -29d00'42".8 (equinox 2000.0)

Follow-up observers on CBET are noting that nothing is visible at this position on a DSS image.

UPDATE JANUARY 24

On CBET circular No. 2142, H. Maehara (Kyoto University) reports that a low-resolution spectrogram (range 400-800 nm) of the possible nova was obtained on Jan. 23.887 UT with the 25-cm telescope of the Kwasan Observatory. The spectrum shows H_alpha, H_beta, and Fe II emission lines. These features suggest that this object is a "Fe II"-class nova.

(Credit: H. Maehara)

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by Ernesto Guido