SOAR spectroscopic confirmation of Gaia22bhs as a highly reddened Galactic classical nova
ATel #15318; A. Kawash, E. Aydi, J. Strader, L. Chomiuk, K. Sokolovsky, T. Panurach, I. Molina (Michigan State University)
on 10 Apr 2022; 16:42 UT
Credential Certification: Adam Kawash (kawashad@msu.edu)
We report on the optical follow up spectroscopy of Gaia22bhs/AT 2022gjz, which was first detected by Gaia on 2022-02-27 at G = 17.55 mag. Because it was initially only detected in one Field of View, it was not reported as a transient by Gaia Science Alerts until the subsequent detections on 2022-03-26 at G = 17.95 mag. The last non-detection by Gaia was on 2021-10-15, so the peak brightness and eruption date are highly uncertain.
On 2022-04-10.3 we obtained a low-resolution spectrum using the Goodman spectrograph (Clemens et al. 2004, SPIE, 5492, 331) on the 4.1 m SOAR telescope, covering the wavelength range 5100-8900 A. The spectrum is characterized by a red continuum and strong emission lines of H I, O I, He I, [O II], and [NII]. Halpha is characterized by a FWHM of around 1600 km/s. The spectrum is that of a highly reddened classical nova, after the optical peak. This is the first confirmed Galactic nova of 2022
This ATel is based on observations obtained at the Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) telescope, which is a joint project of the Ministerio da Ciencia, Tecnologia, Inovacoes e Comunicacoes do Brasil (MCTIC/LNA), the U.S. National Science Foundation's National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), and Michigan State University (MSU). We also acknowledge ESA Gaia, DPAC and the Photometric Science Alerts Team.
Gaia22bhs
