Spectroscopic confirmation of two new Galactic novae
ATel #11209; J. Strader, L. Chomiuk, S. Swihart, L. Shishkovsky (Michigan State)
on 21 Jan 2018; 16:12 UT
Credential Certification: Jay Strader (strader@pa.msu.edu)
Subjects: Optical, Nova, Transient
Referred to by ATel #: 11287
We present spectroscopic confirmation of two new optical transients as Galactic novae.
PNV J17180658-3204279 was discovered on UT 2018 Jan. 17.9 by H. Nishimura (CBET). We obtained a spectrum of the source with the Goodman spectrograph on the SOAR telescope on 2018 Jan 21.36. The spectrum shows broad (FWHM ~ 1700-2200 km/s) Balmer emission and many Fe II emission lines, indicating a classification as a classical nova of the Fe II class.
PNV J13532700-6725110 was discovered on UT 2018 Jan. 19.7 by J. Seach (CBET). S. Kiyota reported the presence of Balmer emission lines in a spectrum taken on Jan 20.6. We obtained a spectrum with SOAR on Jan 21.28. The spectrum shows clear P Cygni profiles in the Balmer lines, with the absorption troughs located about 1300 km/s blueward of rest wavelength and emission a FWHM of about 1500 km/s. A number of Fe II lines are also apparent, some of which also have P Cygni profiles. These characteristics suggest that this transient is also an Fe II nova.
