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Tuesday, October 27, 2020

Discovery of a Nova in M31 - AT2020xyv

A new M31 nova candidate was independently discovered on 2020 Oct. 21.741 (by K. Hornoch and H. Kucakova), on 2020 Oct. 21.92 UT (by A. Catapano, L. Izzo, E. Guido, A. Noschese, F. Coccia, L. D'Avino) and 2020 Oct. 22.550 UT (by M. Zhang and X. Gao) and designated as PNV J00423733+4120519 = AT2020xyv = M31N 2020-10e (ATel #14114). This possible nova was first reported on 2020 Oct. 22.56 by Zhang and Gao as a new source of G ~ 16.9 mag on CBAT "Transient Object Followup Reports" (TOCP PNV J00423733+4120519).

Spectroscopic observations of AT2020xyv (PNVJ00423733+4120519) were obtained with the 3.58m TNG telescope equipped with LRS at Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos in La Palma (Spain) by L. Izzo et al. (ATel #14116). Observations started on October 24 at 01:12:54 UT and they consisted of three exposures of 600s each: "The combined spectrum (covering the range 3,500-8,000 AA, resolving power R = 585) shows bright emission lines of H-alpha and H-beta, the presence of O I 7773 and Fe II lines (multiplet 42 and blended multiplets 37 and 38). From the H-alpha profile, we measure an FWHM of ~4,000 km/s. H-alpha and H-beta lines show P-Cygni profiles (although not prominent) with a minimum at ~ -2,800 km/s. The spectrum is then consistent with a broad-line Fe IIb Classical Nova in M31".

On 2020 Oct. 22.6, we reported on the TOCP our independent discovery of this nova in M31 on a 180-s R-band CCD frame taken on 2020 Oct. 21.92 UT with the 0.5 m f/8 Ritchey Chretien + CCD FLI PL4240 at MPC Code L07 (Osservatorio Salvatore di Giacomo, Agerola, ITALY) at the following coordinates:

R.A. = 00 42 37.33, Decl.= +41 20 52.1 (equinox 2000.0; Gaia DR2).

Our discovery image (click on it for a bigger version):


We have obtained daily BVR photometric observations of this nova with the 0.5m telescope at the Osservatorio Salvatore di Giacomo, Agerola (Italy). We have first detected the nova in BVR images obtained on October 21.92 as a new object in M31 with a magnitude V = 17.70 +- 0.05 mag. The most recent observations of this nova were obtained by us on October 23.85, and we report the following magnitudes: B = 19.39 +- 0.32 mag, V = 18.11 +- 0.12 mag, R = 19.06 +- 0.15 mag.  


AT2020xyv Spectrum - Credit: L.Izzo et al. 


Nothing is visible at this position on our archival images taken on 2020, October 20.83 (limiting B-mag 21). Zhang and Gao reported an upper limits (G > 20.5 mag) in images obtained on October 21.55. Kucacova et al. reported in ATel #14114 the first detection of this nova in images obtained on October 21.74 as an object with R = 18.1 +- 0.2. 

On ATel #14117, Hornoch et al. reported the identification of AT2020xyv as a likely recurrence of M31N 1998-10b, and thus a recurrent nova in M31. Using the updated online catalogue of all historical optical novae and nova candidates in M31 (Pietsch et al. 2007), they found that the measured position of nova AT2020xyv = PNV J00423733+4120519 = M31N 2020-10e "is very close (1.2") to that reported for a nova, M31N 1998-10b, previously discovered as part of the Research-Based Science Education (RBSE) project (Rector et al. 1999). Based on the position of the nova, which is located at an isophotal radius of 8.2' from the center of M31, we compute the probability of a chance positional coincidence between these two novae to be less than 0.01%"


by A. Catapano, L. Izzo, E. Guido, A. Noschese, F. Coccia, L. D'Avino (OASDG; AstroCampania)

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