Electronic Telegram No. 434 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 SUPERNOVA 2006aw IN ESO 85-G38 L. A. G. Monard, Pretoria, S. Africa, reports his discovery of an apparent supernova (mag about 14.9 +/- 0.2) on unfiltered CCD images taken on Mar. 15.747 and 15.858 UT with a 0.30-m reflector. An image taken on Mar. 19.751 showed the new object at mag 15.2. SN 2006aw is located at R.A. = 5h04m18s.18, Decl. = -63o34'57".3 (equinox 2000.0), which is 7" west and 2" south of the nucleus of ESO 85-G38. Nothing is visible at this location on Monard's earlier images of this galaxy, the most recent having been taken on Feb. 16.783 (limiting red mag 18.5). Nothing is present at this location on a red Digitized Sky Survey image (limiting mag 20.5). NOTE: These 'Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams' are sometimes superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars. (C) Copyright 2006 CBAT 2006 March 20 (CBET 434) Daniel W. E. Green