Unidentified Optical Transient From the PQ Survey
ATel #1083; A. Drake, A. Mahabal, S. G. Djorgovski, E. Glikman, C. Donalek, M. Graham, R. Williams (Caltech); C. Baltay, D. Rabinowitz, A. Bauer, R. Scalzo, N. Elman, J. Jerke (Yale), and the PQ Survey Team
on 23 May 2007; 19:40 UT
Distributed as an Instant Email Notice Transients
Credential Certification: S. George Djorgovski (george@astro.caltech.edu)
Subjects: Optical, Request for Observations, Transient
Referred to by ATel #: 1088
We detected a strong optical transient in the Palomar-Quest (PQ) survey drift scans obtained at the Palomar 48-inch Samuel Oschin Telescope on 19 May 2007 UT. The transient is unresolved, at the coordinates (J2000):
RA = 14 33 04.39
Dec = +15 07 7.1
For finding charts and offsets, please see: http://palquest.org/transients/
At the discovery epoch, the magnitudes (calibrated to the SDSS system) were:
g = 20.26, r = 19.53, i = 20.13, and z > 22 mag. By 21 May 2007 UT, the object has faded slightly to r = 19.90 mag, and it does not have a detectable proper motion; no subsequent data were obtained. The source is not present in the previous PQ images (reaching down to ~ 21 - 22 mag), the archival SDSS or DSS images, in NED, or the FIRST and NVSS radio surveys.
The source was observed 5.4 arcsec E and 10.0 arcsec S from an anonymous, ~ 18 mag galaxy. The two may or may not be associated.
Further observations, especially spectroscopy, are strongly encouraged.
