Electronic Telegram No. 3034
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
CBAT Director:  Daniel W. E. Green; Hoffman Lab 209; Harvard University;
 20 Oxford St.; Cambridge, MA  02138; U.S.A.
e-mail:  cbatiau@eps.harvard.edu (alternate cbat@iau.org)
URL http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/index.html
Prepared using the Tamkin Foundation Computer Network


SUPERNOVA 2012am IN UGC 6015 = PSN J10540167+4601389
     T. Orff, J. Newton, and T. Puckett report the discovery of an apparent
supernova (mag 17.6) on an unfiltered CCD image (limiting mag 19.2) taken with
a 0.40-m reflector at Portal, AZ, U.S.A., on Feb. 24.274 UT in the course of
the Puckett Observatory Supernova Search.  The new object, which was confirmed
at mag 17.5 on Feb. 25.266 by Puckett with the 40-cm reflector at Portal, is
located at R.A. = 10h54m01s.67, Decl. = +46o01'38".9 (equinox 2000.0), which
is 7".7 west and 1".6 south of the center of UGC 6015.  Nothing is visible at
this position on images taken by Puckett on Jan. 31 (limiting mag 18.9).  The
variable was designated PSN J10540167+4601389 when it was posted at the
Central Bureau's TOCP webpage and is here designated SN 2012am based on the
spectroscopic confirmation reported below.  The discoverers posted an image
of 2012am at website URL http://www.possdata.com/PSNJ10540167+4601389.jpg.
Joseph Brimacombe, Cairns, Australia, reports magnitude 17.8 and position
end figures 01s.75, 38".0 for 2012am from images taken remotely using a
51-cm RCOS telescope (+ STL11K camera + luminance filter) at the New Mexico
Skies Observatory near Mayhill, NM, U.S.A., on Feb. 25.419; his image is
posted at URL http://www.flickr.com/photos/43846774@N02/6782162750/.  The
type-Ia supernova 2006cf (cf. IAUC 8710, CBET 514) also appeared in UGC 6015.

     L. Tomasella, S. Benetti, A. Pastorello, and S. Valenti, Istituto
Nazionale di Astrofisica, Osservatorio  Astronomico di Padova, report that a
spectrogram of PSN J10540167+4601389 = SN 2012am, obtained on Feb. 25.95 UT
with the Asiago 1.82-m Copernico Telescope (+ AFOSC; range 350-820 nm;
resolution 2.4 nm) shows a blue continuum and prominent, narrow emission lines
of hydrogen, suggesting that it is a young type-IIn supernova.


NOTE: These 'Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams' are sometimes
      superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars.

                         (C) Copyright 2012 CBAT
2012 February 27                 (CBET 3034)              Daniel W. E. Green