Possible nova in Centaurus

[Heian]

Hi all,
came across this on the yahoo SA group, might be worthwhile trying to grab some images??

AAVSO Special Notice #157

Possible Nova in Centaurus
May 13, 2009

G. Pojmanski of the ASAS Project has announced a possible nova in
Centaurus in vsnet-alert 11243. The object was first detected on 2009
May 08.235 (JD 2454959.735) at a V magnitude of 8.533, and was at around
V ~ 9.13 on 2009 May 11.14 (JD 2454962.64). Pojmanski gives the
following coordinates for the nova:

RA: 13 31 16 , Dec: -63 57.6

These coordinates are accurate to approximately 4.0 arcseconds rms, and
so the position of the progenitor cannot be determined exactly.

Follow-up observations -- particularly astrometry and spectroscopy --
are strongly encouraged.

cheers
Mark, (who'll give it a try tonight if the sky holds clear:))

[Glenpiper]

I see that some Italian amateurs have been able to confirm the nova using an Aussie remote telescope at Moorook.

I was hoping to give it a go last night but, as for the last week or more, the Melbourne skies have been too cloudy. I also fear my C8 will be too small to get a decent spectrum of this fading nova.

[sheeny]

Cloudy here.:sadeyes:

Love to have a go...

Good luck guys! Hope you can get something.:thumbsup:

Al.

[Terry B]

I will hopefully measure this tonight if the clouds stay away.

[bojan]

clouds....

[Heian]

I tried..
I failed..
:(

Mark

[sheeny]

If it wasn't for the clouds even I could've done that!:lol: :whistle:

At least you tried!:thumbsup:

Al.

[Terry B]

I took V abd B images of it last night. It is just below beta centaurus in a very crouded star field and is reasonably bright.
I didn't try a spectrum although it will be bright enough as it has vast numbers of field stars that would interfere without using a slit.
I will analyse the pics this evening as post it then.

[Glenpiper]

No luck down my way ... nothing but clouds :(

An R filtered image (BVRI, but RGB usable) would have been very useful, in lieu of a spectra, as it would go a long way to confirming if this object is a nova. Given that novae have strong Ha, a much brighter R vs V would be some confirmation.

[Glenpiper]

Seems we lost our opportunity to provide the spectral proof this object (now V1213 Cen) is a nova. Also a great pity these northern barbarians are invading our turf :)

Circular No. 9043
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION

V1213 CENTAURI
G. Pojmanski, D. Szczygiel, and B. Pilecki, Warsaw University
Astronomical Observatory, report their discovery of a possible nova
in a crowded star field on V-band CCD exposures taken with a 70-mm-
aperture, 200-mm-f.l. f/2.8 camera lens in the course of the All-
Sky Automated Survey, providing the variable's position as R.A. =
13h31m16s, Decl. = -63o57'.6 (equinox 2000.0). ASAS-3 V-band
magnitudes for the variable: May 4.168 UT, [14: (presumed; not
detected); 8.235, 8.53; 11.108, 9.12; 11.140, 9.13. M. Templeton,
AAVSO, reports that L. Elenin (Moscow, Russia) observed the
variable at V = 9.69 on May 13.466, remotely using a 0.15-m f/7.3
refractor near Perth, W. Australia, and providing position end
figures 15s.76, 38".5 for the new object. E. Guido and G. Sostero
write that they obtained unfiltered CCD images remotely with a
0.25-m f/6 telescope near Moorook, Australia, on May 13.57 that
yield magnitude about 8.6 for the variable and position end figures
15s.77, 38".6; comparison with an Anglo-Australian Observatory
Schmidt red plate (limiting magnitude about 20), obtained on 1997
Feb. 5, shows that this position is nearly coincident with a field
star with mag about 15 whose position end figures are 15s.68, 38".6
(difficult measurement due to extreme crowding of nearby field
stars). Additional information was given on CBET 1800.
A. Pigulski, Astronomical Institute, Wroclaw University,
writes that he obtained a single spectrogram of the variable with
the 1.9-m Radcliffe telescope (+ GIRAFFE echelle spectrograph;
range 425-680 nm; resolution 32000) of the South African
Astronomical Observatory on May 13.89 UT. The star shows very
strong and broad emission in H-alpha, H-beta, and H-gamma. The
peak flux of the H-alpha emission is roughly ten times stronger
than that of the continuum. The FWHM of the Balmer lines (as
measured from H-alpha and H-beta) corresponds to the velocity of
2300 km/s. In addition, the Fe II emission features at 490-540 nm,
characteristic for a nova at an early stage of evolution, can be
clearly seen in the spectrum.
E. V. Kazarovets and N. Samus report that the GCVS team
assigns the designation V1213 Cen to this nova.

[bojan]

I think I managed to capture it last night between two huge clouds.. with 50mm lens.

[Terry B]

Here is mine from Thursday night.
It measured V 10.11
The field is 19arcmin square. North is up and east to the left.

[bojan]

Here is a shot with MTO1000, 60sec at ISO1600. North is to the left.
I will do photometry tomorrow..

[Terry B]

Here is the spectrum from 15th. It has a pretty strong Ha emission.

[Glenpiper]

Good effort! Given that this nova is only around mag 10 I assume you are using a slitless grating, probably the SA100?

[Heian]

Nice one Terry :thumbsup:,

what was the setup you ended up using to catch the image??

Mark

[Terry B]

Yes it is with the SA.

The image was 60 sec exposures x 6 processed with Iris and then Vspec.
The camera is a ST9E on my VC200L at 1800mm fl guided with my very nice 127mm triplet refractor acting as a guide scope.:eyepop:
There are a lot of field stars and a few of the bumps in the spectrum are background stars( like the bump at 5000A). There is a bright star interfering just of the graph in the IR so I cut that bit of the graph off.

[sheeny]

Good one Terry!:thumbsup:

Al.

[Merlin66]

Terry,
That's an excellent outcome.. well done!!!
(would the aperture-diaphragm have helped in separating the star from the background? Or even just a wide slit...)

[Terry B]

Yes it would have but I found focusing too hard with the mask in place so removed it.

[Merlin66]

Any other spectrum obtained of this Nova...??
It would be interesting to see the changes during the decline....

[Terry B]

:windy::rain: