Electronic Telegram No. 1337 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://www.cfa.harvard.edu/iau/cbat.html SUPERNOVA 2008bt IN NGC 3404 S. Blondin, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), on behalf of the CfA Supernova Group, reports that a spectrogram (range 350-740 nm) of 2008bt (cf. CBET 1336), obtained by M. Calkins on Apr. 15.16 UT with the F. L. Whipple Observatory 1.5-m telescope (+ FAST), shows it to be a type-Ia supernova around maximum light. Cross-correlation with a library of supernova spectra using the "Supernova Identification" code (SNID; Blondin and Tonry 2007, Ap.J. 666, 1024) indicates that 2008bt is most similar to the sub-luminous type-Ia supernova 1991bg at 3 days past maximum. Adopting a recession velocity of 4551 km/s for the host galaxy (from Fairall et al. 1992, A.J. 103, 11), the maximum absorption in the Si II line (rest 635.5 nm) is blueshifted by roughly 10300 km/s. Assuming that the galaxy is in the Hubble flow and the supernova suffers negligible extinction, the discovery magnitude of 16.6 corresponds to an absolute magnitude of roughly -17.5, comparable to SN 1991bg at the same age. Also, interstellar Na I D absorption at the redshift of the host galaxy is visible in the spectrum with an equivalent width of 0.2 nm. NOTE: These 'Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams' are sometimes superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars. (C) Copyright 2008 CBAT 2008 April 15 (CBET 1337) Daniel W. E. Green