Spectroscopic classification of M31N 2016-10c as a classical nova eruption very close to the M31 core
ATel #9652; S. C. Williams (Lancaster), M. J. Darnley (LJMU)
on 19 Oct 2016; 15:14 UT
Credential Certification: Steven Williams (scw@astro.ljmu.ac.uk)
Subjects: Optical, Nova, Transient
We obtained a spectrum of nova candidate M31N 2016-10c (PNV J00424603+4116114; ATel #9638) with the SPRAT spectrograph (Piascik et al. 2014) on the 2-m Liverpool Telescope (Steele et al. 2004) on 2016 October 19.01 UT.
The nova is apparently very close to the M31 core and the spectrum is somewhat contaminated by the strong background light from the core itself. The nova spectrum shows strong Balmer emission (Hα, Hβ and Hγ) and we measure the FWHM of the Hα line to be ~2100 km/s. We also detect several Fe II lines, including those of the 42 and 49 multiplets.
This spectrum confirms that M31N 2016-10c is a classical nova eruption in M31 and a member of the Fe II spectroscopic class. Nova M31N 2016-10c, along with M31N 2009-10c (ATel #2234, #2240), are the closest novae to the M31 core to be spectroscopically confirmed (both have apparent offsets of ~20 arcsec).
