Electronic Telegram No. 820
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
M.S. 18, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.
IAUSUBS@CFA.HARVARD.EDU or FAX 617-495-7231 (subscriptions)
CBAT@CFA.HARVARD.EDU (science)
URL http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/cbat.html


PROBABLE NOVA IN CENTAURUS
     W. Liller, Vina del Mar, Chile, reports his discovery of a possible
nova (mag approximately 8.2) located at R.A. = 11h43m.2, Decl. = 58d03'
(equinox 2000.0), appearing on two Technical Pan films taken near Jan.
23.354 UT with an 85-mm-focal-length camera lens and an orange filter.
Nothing brighter than magnitude 11.5 was seen at this position on
exposures from Jan. 15.36.  Nothing is seen at this position on the "Real
Sky Digitized Southern Sky Survey", encompassing images made with the
1.2-m Schmidt telescope at Siding Spring (limiting presumed to be mag 19
or fainter).  B. Heathcote (Australia) reports the following precise
position for the new star from CCD images obtained on Jan. 25.708:  R.A.
= 11h43m10s.33, Decl. = -58o04'04".3 (equinox 2000.0), with magnitudes B
= 9.08, V = 8.59.  A low-resolution spectrum by Heathcote shows strong
H_alpha emission.  The variable star is very close to the USNO-A2.0 star
0300.13671194.  P. Schmeer (Germany) reports that this position is very
close to a star in the USNO-B1.0 catalogue (position end figures 10s.24,
04".5; red mag 18.4) and in the Guide-Star Catalogue (position end figures
10s.231, 03".85; red mag 17.1), as well as the 2MASS catalogue (position
end figures 10s.12, 04".1; J = 16.6, K = 15.1).
     E. O. Waagen, AAVSO, forwards a report from P. Nelson (Australia)
that gives the same position as Heathcote (presumably re-measured) from a
V-band CCD image obtained on Jan. 25.656 (with the new variable star at V
= 8.5.  Waagen also provides position end figures 10s.34, 04".2 forwarded
from C. Stockdale (Victoria, Australia) from an image taken on Jan. 25.611
(the magnitude measured as V = 8.7).
     Visual magnitude esimates:  Jan. 25.031 UT, 8.7 (A. Amorim,
Florianopolis, Brazil); 25.529, 8.3 (A. Pearce, Nedlands, W. Australia).


NOTE: These 'Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams' are sometimes
      superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars.

                         (C) Copyright 2007 CBAT
2007 January 26                  (CBET 820)               Daniel W. E. Green