ASASSN-16aj: Discovery of A Probable Supernova in NGC 1562

ATel #8542; J. Brimacombe (Coral Towers Observatory), T. W.-S. Holoien, K. Z. Stanek, C. S. Kochanek, J. S. Brown, D. Godoy-Rivera, U. Basu (Ohio State), B. J. Shappee (Hubble Fellow, Carnegie Observatories), J. L. Prieto (Diego Portales; MAS), D. Bersier (LJMU), Subo Dong, Ping Chen (KIAA-PKU), G. Bock (Runaway Bay Observatory, Australia), S. Kiyota (Variable Star Observers League in Japan), R. A. Koff (Antelope Hills Observatory)
on 14 Jan 2016; 17:28 UT
Distributed as an Instant Email Notice Supernovae
Credential Certification: Thomas Holoien (tholoien@astronomy.ohio-state.edu)

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p>During the ongoing All Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN or "Assassin"), using data from the quadruple 14-cm "Cassius" telescope in Cerro Tololo, Chile, we discovered a new transient source, most likely a supernova, in the galaxy NGC 1562.

ASASSN-16aj (AT 2016K) was discovered in images obtained on UT 2016-01-14.21 at V~17.0 mag. We do not detect (V>17.7) the object in images taken on UT 2016-01-11.16 and before. An image obtained on 2016-01-14 by J. Brimacombe confirms the discovery of the transient. This figure shows the archival DSS image of the host (left) and the J. Brimacombe confirmation image (right). The red circle has a radius of 5" and is centered on the position of the transient in the J. Brimacombe image.

The position of ASASSN-16aj is approximately 0.38" South and 8.94" East from the center of the galaxy NGC 1562 (z=0.030745, d=128 Mpc, via NED), giving an absolute V-band magnitude of approximately -18.6 (m-M=35.48, A_V=0.090). Properties of the new source and photometry are summarized in the tables below:

 
Object       RA (J2000)     DEC (J2000)      Disc. UT Date   Disc. V mag  Approx. Abs. Mag   Offset from Host (") 
ASASSN-16aj  04:21:48.213    -15:45:19.25      2016-01-14.21      17.0          -18.6               8.95 

 
Obs. UT Date         V mag 
2016-01-11.16        >17.7 
2016-01-14.21         17.0 

Follow-up observations are encouraged.

We thank LCOGT and its staff for their continued support of ASAS-SN. ASAS-SN is supported by NSF grant AST-1515927, the Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics (CCAPP) at OSU, the Mt. Cuba Astronomical Foundation, George Skestos, and the Robert Martin Ayers Sciences Fund. For more information about the ASAS-SN project, see the ASAS-SN Homepage and the list of all ASAS-SN transients.