PSN J14595947+0154262 (= SNhunt248) is brightening

ATel #6206; WeiKang Zheng, Alexei V. Filippenko, Melissa L. Graham and Jon Mauerhan (UC Berkeley), Schuyler D. Van Dyk (IPAC/Caltech)
on 6 Jun 2014; 23:54 UT
Distributed as an Instant Email Notice Supernovae
Credential Certification: Weikang Zheng (zwk@umich.edu)

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Observations with the 0.76-m Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope (KAIT) at Lick Observatory show that PSN J14595947+0154262 (= SNhunt248) has brightened by approximately 1.4 mag in our unfiltered (roughly R) images in the past three days. The target was detected with mag ~19.3 on June 4.35 UT, and ~18.4 on June 5.33, then brightened to be ~17.9 on June 6.32. A spectrum was taken on May 25, before the brightening, with the Low Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (LRIS) mounted on the Keck I telescope. It shows a blue continuum with narrow (~1200 km/s) P-Cygni profiles of hydrogen and helium, and iron lines around 5000 Angstroms. This spectrum is similar to LBVs, SN impostors, and also to the Type IIn-P class of SN 2011ht-like objects (Mauerhan et al. 2013, MNRAS, 431, 2599). The host galaxy (NGC 5806) distance modulus is ~32, which indicates this PSN has an intrinsic magnitude of ~ -12 before brightening, significantly fainter than SN 2011ht and others of its class. However, the currently absolute magnitude is roughly -14 mag, indicating the possible onset of a real SN explosion. Follow-up observations are encouraged.