Spectroscopic confirmation of PNV J18025353-2914151 as a classical nova in Sagittarius with a possible red giant progenitor
ATel #16428; Jay Strader, Ryan Urquhart (Michigan St), Kirill Sokolovsky (Illinois), Elias Aydi, Laura Chomiuk (Michigan St)
on 2 Feb 2024; 17:41 UT
Credential Certification: Jay Strader (strader@pa.msu.edu)
We report optical spectroscopy of PNV J18025353-2914151, which was discovered by Y. Nakamura on UT 2024-01-27.9. This region of the sky is currently only visible at high airmass in morning twilight and hence no recent observations are available from all-sky surveys.
On 2024-02-01.4 we obtained a low-resolution spectrum of this source using the Goodman spectrograph on the 4.1 m SOAR telescope, covering the wavelength range 4000-8000 A. The spectrum has a flat continuum in F_lambda with strong broad emission lines. The strongest lines are H-alpha (FWHM about 1300 km/s), H-beta, and O I; emission lines from He I, N II, and Fe II are also seen. This spectrum is consistent with that of a classical nova.
Owing to the high airmass and saturation of the acquisition image, precise astrometry is not possible. However, the nova appears to be a close astrometric match to the position of a cataloged red giant classified as a long period variable star by several surveys, including OGLE (ID: OGLE-BLG-LPV-190334). This star has Gaia DR3 ICRS coordinates: 270.7226191, -29.2372428 and G=14.4. No other star in Gaia DR3 is a plausible match.
Based on observations obtained at the Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) telescope, which is a joint project of the Ministerio da Ciencia, Tecnologia e Inovacoes do Brasil (MCTI/LNA), the US National Science Foundation's NOIRLab, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), and Michigan State University (MSU).
