Discovery of Possible Nova in M81 : P60-M81-081027
ATel #1826; M. M. Kasliwal, S. B. Cenko, A. Rau, E. O. Ofek, R. Quimby, S. R. Kulkarni (Caltech)
on 1 Nov 2008; 00:12 UT
Distributed as an Instant Email Notice Novae
Credential Certification: Mansi Manoj Kasliwal (mansi@astro.caltech.edu)
Subjects: Optical, Nova, Transient
On UT 2008 Oct 27.402, P60-FasTING (Palomar 60-inch Fast Transients In Nearby Galaxies) discovered a nova in M81 at RA(J2000) = 09:55:36.105 DEC(J2000) = +69:03:22.04, offset from the nucleus by 15.8"E, 33.1"S. P60-M81-081027 had a peak brightness of g = 20.6 +/- 0.1 at discovery and has since faded to g = 21.5 +/- 0.3 on Oct 30.501. There is no counterpart in SDSS or SIMBAD. It is not detected to g > 21.8 on Oct 20.453. The peak magnitude (Mg = -7.3) is consistent with a classical nova.
Light curve summary:
Date (UT 2008)| Mag (g-band) |
--------------+--------------+
Oct 20.453 | > 21.8 |
Oct 21.501 | 21.6 |
Oct 23.488 | 21.1 |
Oct 26.435 | 20.8 |
Oct 27.402 | 20.6 |
Oct 29.463 | 21.1 |
Oct 30.501 | 21.5 |
