Gaia discovery of a Supernova candidate in ESO 297- G 008

ATel #7328; N. Blagorodnova, H. Campbell, A. Delgado, M. Fraser, S. Hodgkin, D. Harrison, S. Koposov, G. Rixon, N. Walton (University of Cambridge), L. Wyrzykowski, Z. Kostrzewa-Rutkowska (Warsaw University Observatory)
on 31 Mar 2015; 18:49 UT
Distributed as an Instant Email Notice Supernovae
Credential Certification: Nadejda Blagorodnova (nblago@ast.cam.ac.uk)

Tweet

We report the Gaia discovery of a bright SN candidate in the galaxy ESO 297- G 008:

 
Object		| Discovery TCB		| RA (J2000)	| DEC (J2000)	| Alert G mag	| Last non-detection TCB 
	 
Gaia15aeb	| 2015-03-22 22:33:30   | 23.88592	| -39.38601	| 16.53		| 2015-01-16 19:49:26 
 

Gaia15aeb was discovered on 22 Mar 2015, 22:33:30 (TCB) at 16.53 magnitude in Gaia G band (600 nm). The last non-detection date is 2015-01-16 19:49:26 (TCB).
The position of Gaia15aeb is approximately 26" from the centre of the galaxy ESO 297- G 008 (z=0.017839, d=71.5 Mpc, via NED), and 3.8" from the object AM 0133-393 (no redshift in NED). The estimated absolute G-band magnitude is approximately -17.96 (m-M=34.30, A_R=0.045).
The Gaia low resolution spectra show a blue featureless continuum, with a good match to a black body emission at ~10000K. This is consistent with a core-collapse SN at a few days after explosion.
Follow-up observations are encouraged, although these may be challenging due to the current transient's close position to the Sun.
We acknowledge ESA Gaia (http://cosmos.esa.int/gaia), DPAC (cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dpac) and the DPAC Photometric Science Alerts Team (http://gaia.ac.uk/selected-gaia-science-alerts).