Discovery of a Bright Probable Nova in M81, M81N 2026-06a

ATel #17846; K. Hornoch, H. Kucakova (Ondrejov), A. W. Shafter (SDSU)
on 15 Jun 2026; 20:45 UT
Distributed as an Instant Email Notice Novae
Credential Certification: Allen W. Shafter (ashafter@sdsu.edu)

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We report the discovery of a bright probable nova in M81 on a co-added 5220-s unfiltered CMOS frame taken on 2026 Jun. 13.933 UT with the 0.65-m telescope at Ondrejov under poor seeing conditions.

The object designated as M81N 2026-06a = PNV J09552128+6902526 is located at R.A. = 9h55m21s.28, Decl. = +69o02'52".6 (equinox 2000.0), which is 63.8" west and 62.5" south of the center of M81 (see link to discovery image below).

Here we list the observing dates and corresponding photometry:

 
  Date [UT]    |  Mag   | Err  | Filter  | Telescope 
 
2026-05-29.854 | >20.5  |      | C       | OND 
2026-06-13.933 |  18.9  | 0.1  | C       | OND 
 

As with all extragalactic novae, follow-up spectroscopic and photometric observations to determine the nova's spectroscopic class and rate of decline (speed class) are encouraged. The OND 0.65-m is a reflecting telescope at the Ondrejov observatory operated jointly by the Astronomical Institute of ASCR and the Astronomical Institute of the Charles University of Prague, Czech Republic. It uses a Moravian Instruments C3-61000EC PRO CMOS camera (with a SONY IMX455 sensor and VRIH_alpha photometric filters) mounted at the prime focus. The unfiltered OND photometry was calibrated against R-band comparison stars from Perelmuter & Racine (1995).

Discovery image