SALT spectroscopy of the Recurrent Nova T Pyx in outburst
ATel #3289; Kenneth H. Nordsieck (University of Wisconsin-Madison), on behalf of the RSS Commissioning Team & Michael Shara (American Museum of Natural History), on behalf of the SALT consortium
on 17 Apr 2011; 21:12 UT
Credential Certification: David Buckley (dibnob@saao.ac.za)
Subjects: Optical, Cataclysmic Variable, Nova
Spectroscopy of T Pyx was obtained on SALT with the Robert Stobie Spectrograph (RSS) on UT 2011 April 15 21:22 - 21:36, 1.6 days after its reported outburst and during the current RSS re-commissioning phase, which began on 9 April.
The spectra were taken with a 0.6 arcsec wide slit in two regions, 535 - 630 nm (R = 8500; 3 x 30 s exposures) and 620-700 nm (R = 11200, 6 x 30 s exposures). They are dominated by strong, broad emission lines of H-alpha, HeI and NII, some showing P Cyg profiles with radial velocities of the absorption component extending to -2400 km/s. The NII lines are typical of moderate density nova shells and the spectra as a whole are typical of the principal spectra of novae (e.g. Gallagher & Starrfield, 1978, ARAA, 16, 171). The narrow interstellar NaD doublet is also present.
T Pyx SALT-RSS spectra
