Electronic Telegram No. 3344
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 2012hq
     Xiaofeng Wang and Juncheng Chen, Tsinghua University (THU), China; and
Tianmeng Zhang and Xu Zhou, National Astronomical Observatories of China
(NAOC), report the discovery of an apparent supernova (mag 18.6) on unfiltered
CCD images taken on Dec. 7.71 UT using the 0.6-m NAOC Schmidt telescope in the
course of the THU-NAOC Transient Survey.  The object was located at R.A. =
2h07m30s.497, Decl. = +44d06'19".25 (equinox 2000.0), which is about 10" west
and 2" north of the center of the galaxy 2MASX J02073110+4406186.  Nothing is
visible at this position on archival images obtained on Nov. 29 (limiting mag
about 19.5) or on Digitized Sky Survey images from Palomar Sky Survey.  The
object was confirmed at mag about 18.4 on an image taken on Dec. 9.42.

     J.-J. Zhang, Yunnan Astronimical Observatory (YNAO); X.-L. Zhao and X.-F.
Wang, Tsinghua University; T.-M. Zhang, National Astronomical Observatories
of China, report on an optical spectrogram (range 320-800 nm) of 2012hq that
was obtained on Dec. 10.60 UT with the 2.4-m telescope (+ YFOSC) at the
LiJiang Gaomeigu Station of the YNAO.  The spectrum is consistent with that
of a type-Ia supernova a few days before maximum light.  Cross-correlation
with a library of supernova spectra using the "Supernova Identification" code
(SNID; Blondin and Tonry 2007, Ap.J. 666, 1024) shows that 2012hq matches
with SN 2006le at -7 days.  Adopting a redshift of about 0.09 (from the SNID
fit) for the presumed host galaxy (2MASX J02073110+4406186), they measure the
velocity of the Si II 635.5-nm absorption feature to be about 12300 km/s.


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      superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars.

                         (C) Copyright 2012 CBAT
2012 December 16                 (CBET 3344)              Daniel W. E. Green