Southern Observers !
A 14th magnitude transient (likely supernova) was discovered in NGC 7213 on 29th December 2015. The discovery was announced in CBAT 8474. The new transient is currently 14th magnitude but likely to brighten a magnitude or two over the next week or so.
NGC 7213 is one of the easiest galaxies to find in the night sky as it is only 16 arc-minutes south-southwest of 1st magnitude Alpha Gruis (Alnair).
The new object 117" North and 68" West from the center of the galaxy NGC 7213. In other words it is about 2 arcminutes from center in the north-northwestern halo. http://www.astronomerstelegram.org/?read=8474
From Les Dalrymple, thanks to heads up from Steve Gottlieb, via facebook.
Been a long time since I have contributed here. Don't read anything at all into that. I have no beef with anyone on this forum or the administrators. I'm not really sure why it happened. I have had a long battle with depression and PTSD for over 15 years. I have had a lot of change to my living circumstances during the last 4 years and a lot of mental ill-health to deal with. It was that that primarily resulted in my no longer contributing to AS&T.
I am now single and have moved from Sydney. One of the up-sides to all this is that I now live and observe from a pristine site where I frequently register 22.0 and better on the SQM-L metre. I live about 18km south west of Canowindra in the NSW central west.
Okay, that aside I'm here right now and can report that I did observe this object last night. It was Comfortably visible in the 46cm f/4.9 at x 185 under a sky that was not completely dark (some lingering twilight in the south southwestern sky) -- SQM 21.71. Est magnitude ~14.2. It seems similar in brightness to the star GSC 8438:727 at RA: 22h 08m 41.19s Dec: -47° 13' 50.4" Mag: 14.3 / 0.4 about 7' SW of the supernova.
Just to show I haven't lost my form as an observer, here are a few notes from the 90mins following my observing NGC 7213. All were galaxies in Eridanus. As the evening went on, the SQM-L reading improved until it reached 21.84 around 11.30pm, but a breeze that picked up and deteriorating seeing made me pack up. Out here, there's very frequently "another night". In that respect I am quite blessed. Here's the notes:
Supernova SN J22090961-4708017 in NGC 7213 is visible abut 2.25' NNW of centre of NGC 7213. Comfortably visible in the 46cm f/4.9 at x 185 under a sky that is not completely dark (some lingering twilight in the south southwestern sky) -- SQM 21.71. Est magnitude ~14.2. It seems similar in brightness to the star GSC 8438:727 at RA: 22h 08m 41.19s Dec: -47° 13' 50.4" Mag: 14.3 / 0.4 about 7' SW of the supernova. Rochesterastronomy.org suggest it is of type Ia (detonating white dwarf).
This small mod faint eg is N of a couple of similarly bright mag 13*s by about 2'. Seems slightly elong in PA 0, 50" x 40" . From indefinite edges grows mod and broadly to centre with an indefinite suggestion of a v/faint pip or stellaring at centre.
This eg is at zenith and not hard to see. Small, elong eg in the order of 1' x 30", oval in PA 0, possessing a mod brighter, small elong core zone that brightens weakly to centre. There is a mag 13 * fractionally W of the axis of the eg off the southern tip. (about 1.5' from centre. Well populated field with many faint *s.
This eg is pointed at from the SE by mags 12 & 14 *s of which the latter is about 2.5' distant. Elong in PA 150 -- the eg almost points back at the *s. Mod faint, 50 x 20" and appears to have a very faint, almost *ar stellaring at centre that sometimes seems to be embedded in a weak short, streak at centre of the halo. No other stars of note associated.
This eg is found to the NE by 2' from a mag 9 *. Pretty small and mod to quite faint. Round, about 30" dia growing from diffuse edges broadly and slightly to centre where I suspect there is a V/V faint stellaring that occasionally appears..
These three eg's are in a short, almost straight E-W line about 6' long.
NGC 1565 is the brightest, though it is quite faint and of very LSB. It appears as the W most point and the RA point of a small RA tri with two *s mags 14.5 that are aligned N-S and about 2' apart. -65 is 1.5' W of the N-S line these stars make. Very soft diffuse glow, almost 1' diameter growing weakly to centre without zones, core or apparent nucleus. -64 and -63 are 5' and 7' W respectively.
-64 & -63 are both very marginal objects, only occasionally visible with A.V and concentration. Extremely faint and LSB spots maybe 10-15" across with no structure. Very difficult objects. -64 maybe marginally the fainter.
This eg is 6' SW of a 10th mag * that has a couple of fainter 13th mag companions. There is a small box of 14th mag *s between the bright one and the eg. Very small to tiny, not difficult to see, maybe 30" diameter, round diffuse edges growing broadly and slightly to centre where there seems to be an occasionally visible stellaring or stellar nucleus.
This eg forms a small tri with a couple of 13th mag *s that are about 4' apart and have a couple of 15th mag *s between them. Very LSB and quite faint, 30" diameter, round growing broadly and slightly to centre but no zones core or nucleus visible.
Only visible in the 9mm T1 at x 247, A very, very faint very tiny eg that appears essentially as a stellaring surrounded by some extremely faint ephemeral mist cloud only several arcseconds across.
After seeing the DSS the following day when typing up, it may be that what I saw was a 15th mag * -- GSC 5313:92
RA: 04h 24m 03.10s Dec: -09° 23' 14.2"
Mag: 14.9 / 0.4
that is superimposed on the eg at the N edge of the halo.
Les
That is probably the nicest and most enjoyable post on IIS in many a long year. If only because it was you posting it. Nice to see you back and hope the health is going well.
Les
That is probably the nicest and most enjoyable post on IIS in many a long year. If only because it was you posting it. Nice to see you back and hope the health is going well.
Malcolm
Sorry to hijack your thread Susy but: welcome back Les! It's great to hear from you again and hope you are in a good place, personally and astronomically.
Thank you for your greetings and salutations. I am in a very good place astronomically and at least the best head-space I have been in for a few years. I do hope to contribute to the discussions here in the future.
I am hoping to start a public observatory here in the hope of continuing outreach (I still work a couple of evenings per month at Sydney Observatory) and generating a bit of pocket-money I can plough back into telescopes & etc.
Attached is a 180 degree panorama looking south where I hope in the coming months to build the shed (well, a double width, tandem length colourbond garage) and associated stuff that will be my observatory. My house is in the foreground. Yes, it's quite a view !
Sorry to hijack your thread Susy but: welcome back Les! It's great to hear from you again and hope you are in a good place, personally and astronomically.
Oh please, be my guest, David, to you and all, to hijack away. I'm so pleased myself to see Les back on here after such a long break .
Les, thank you for the obs report, oh how I missed these from you. .
I still have 5 years worth of Australian Sky & Telescope magazines with your contributions and if I ever get rid of them, I'd always planned on tearing out and keeping your articles. They're gold to me as I regularly refer to them.
,
. 
