Discovery of a Probable Nova in M31
ATel #6563; K. Hornoch (Astronomical Institute, Ondrejov, Czech Republic), H. Kucakova (Astronomical Institute, Charles U., Prague, Czech Republic), J. Gorosabel (UPV/EHU and IAA/CSIC, Spain), A. Sanchez-Lavega, S. Perez-Hoyos and R. Hueso (UPV/EHU, Spain) on behalf of the BEGIRA project
on 10 Oct 2014; 06:21 UT
Credential Certification: Allen W. Shafter (aws@nova.sdsu.edu)
Subjects: Optical, Nova, Transient
We report the discovery of rather faint, slowly rising probable nova in M31 on a co-added 720-s R-band CCD frame taken on 2014 Oct. 9.732 UT with the 0.65-m telescope at Ondrejov. The object is well visible also on a few prediscovery images, but is not present on many archival images taken with various telescopes during last several years.
The object designated PNV J00423972+4120117 is located at R.A. = 0h42m39s.72, Decl. = +41o20'11".7 (equinox 2000.0), which is 51.9" west and 243.2" north of the center of M31 (see link to discovery image below).
The following R-band magnitudes (unless otherwise noted) were obtained using the 0.65-m telescope at Ondrejov (O) and the 1.23-m telescope at Calar Alto (CA):
2014 Oct. 3.883 UT, [20.4 (O); 5.980, 19.8 ± 0.35 (O); 6.924, 19.8 ± 0.15 (CA); 7.036, 19.3 ± 0.25 (O); 9.732, 18.7 ± 0.2 (O); 9.771, 18.9 ± 0.2 (O); 9.787, I = 18.6 ± 0.3 (O).
The observed (R-I) ~ 0.2 mag is common for novae around maximum brightness, but would be atypical for a red LPV. Nevertheless, spectroscopic classification is strongly encouraged to firmly establish the nature of the object.
Discovery image
