Detection of Nova V572 Vel by SPHEREx that precedes the optical discovery
ATel #17601; D. P.K. Banerjee(1), V. Joshi (1), A. Evans (2), C. E. Woodward (3), S. Starrfield (4); (1) Physical Research Laboratory, India (2) Keele University (3) University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (4) Arizona State University.
on 15 Jan 2026; 17:25 UT
Credential Certification: Dipankar P.K. Banerjee (dpkb12345@gmail.com)
Nova V572 VELORUM = NOVA VELORUM 2025 = PNV J10251200-5331109 was reported
to be in outburst by John Seach on June 25.440 at magnitude 5.7 in unfiltered images.
Simultaneous, but independent, reports of the eruption were also made by others (e.g
Andrew Pearce; K. Yoshimoto; see CBET 5574 for details).
In this context we explored data from SPHEREx (The Spectro-Photometer
for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer)
and note that the nova was detected almost 5 days before the
optical discovery reported in CBET 5574.
Images, with individual exposure time of 113.582 seconds, in the D1 and D4 pass bands
(central wavelengths of 0.8272 micron and 2.5102 micron respectively)
clearly detect the nova on JD 2460846.84 (2025 June 20.339). The nova is not seen in
images obtained immediately
previous to this on
JD 2460844.1869 (2025 June 17.687). The approximate magnitude of
the nova on the first date (2025 June 20.339) is expected to be
around I = 8.9 +/- 0.2 (flux calibration was done with respect to a field star
using its Skymapper I magnitude; a more precise magnitude may be determined later).
By June 25.440, the CBET date of the optical discovery, the nova was
already saturated in the D1 and D4 bands.
This report makes use of data products from the Spectro-Photometer
for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer
(SPHEREx), which is a joint project of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
and the California Institute of Technology,
and is funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
