Electronic Telegram No. 4079 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 NOVA SAGITTARII 2015 (No. 1) = PNV J18142514-2554343 K. Nishiyama, Kurume, Japan; and F. Kabashima, Miyaki, Japan, report their discovery of a possible nova (mag 10.9) in Sgr on two 40-s unfiltered CCD frames (limiting magnitude 13.3) taken around Feb. 12.878 UT using a 105-mm f/4 camera lens (+ SBIG STL6303E camera), and confirmed via five 3-s unfiltered CCD frames (limiting magnitude 16.6) taken around Feb. 12.891 using a Meade 200R 0.40-m f/9.8 reflector (+ SBIG STL1001E camera). The new star is located at R.A. = 18h14m25s.14, Decl. = -25d54'34".3 (equinox 2000.0). They note that nothing is visible at this position on the Digitized Sky Survey. A USNO-B1.0-catalogue star of red mag 14.4 is located 2".6 to the southwest. H. Maehara, Okayama Astrophysical Observatory, writes that nothing is visible at the reported position on archival images taken with the Kamogata-Kiso-Kyoto Wide-field Survey (KWS) set-up (105mm-f.l. f/2.0 lenses + SBIG ST-8XME CCD cameras + Bessell V and I_c filters) between 2013 May 1 and 2014 Sept. 8 (typical limiting magnitudes V = 13.0 and I_c = 11.5). The variable was designated PNV J18142514-2554343 when it was posted at the Central Bureau's TOCP webpage. Additional CCD magnitudes for PNV J18142514-2554343: 2015 Feb. 2.887 UT, [12.5 (Nishiyama and Kabashima); 11.841, 10.5 (T. Kojima, Gunma-ken, Japan; 150-mm f/2.8 lens + digital camera; limiting mag 11.5 pre-discovery; image posted at website URL http://www.oaa.gr.jp/~oaacs/image/PnovaSgrKojima.jpg; communicated by S. Nakano, Sumoto, Japan); 12.840, 11.2 (H. Nishimura, Kakegawa, Shizuoka-ken, Japan; 200-mm f/3.2 lens + Canon EOS 5D digital camera; independent discovery reported via Nakano after the variable was posted to the TOCP; position end figures 25s.24, 32".6; image posted at website URL http://www.oaa.gr.jp/~oaacs/image/PnovaSgr.jpg); 13.786, V = 11.16, I_c = 10.47 (S. Kiyota, Kamagaya, Japan; remotely using an iTelescope 0.43-m f/6.8 CDK astrograph + FLI PL16803 camera located at Siding Spring in Australia; position end figures 25s.15, 34".7; image posted at website URL http://meineko.sakura.ne.jp/ccd/PNV_J18142514-2554343.jpg); 13.824, 11.1 (T. Noguchi, Katori, Japan; 0.23-m f/6.3 Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector + FLI ML0261E camera; 10-s exposure, limiting mag 15.0; position end figures 25s.16, 34".3; UCAC4 reference stars; communicated by Nakano; image posted at URL http://park8.wakwak.com/~ngc/images/PNVinSgr_20150213.jpg); 13.869, I_c = 9.62 +/- 0.10 (Maehara; KWS cameras); 13.870, V = 10.71 +/- 0.11 (Maehara; KWS cameras); 14.889, V = 10.06 (K. Yoshimoto, Yamaguchi, Japan; 0.16-m f/6.3 reflector + ST9XEi camera + Johnson-Cousins filter; six 15-s exposures; communicated by Nakano); 15.830, 9.0 (Kojima; via Nakano); 17.774, V = 9.3 (T. Yusa, Osaki, Japan; remotely using an iTelescope 0.43-m f/6.8 astrograph at Siding Spring; position end figures 25s.15, 34".6; RGB color image posted at URL http://space.geocities.jp/yusastar77/supernova/PNinSgr_150217.htm); 19.748, V = 10.14 +/- 0.02 (P. Nelson, Ellinbank, Vic., Australia; via E. O. Waagen, AAVSO); 22.789, V = 10.30 +/- 0.30 (K. Hills, Hartford, Cheshire, UK; via Waagen); Mar. 1.791, V = 11.20 +/- 0.13 (Hills); 12.704, V = 10.79 +/- 0.10 (Hills); 16.415, V = 10.49 +/- 0.01 (J. Hambsch, Mol, Belgium; via Waagen). Visual magnitude estimates for PNV J18142514-2554343, supplied in part by E. O. Waagen, AAVSO: Feb. 16.327 UT, 9.5 (A. Amorim, Florianopolis, Brazil); 16.809, 9.5 (A. Pearce, Nedlands, W. Australia); 19.833, 10.2 (Pearce); 22.831, 10.2 (Pearce); 24.451, 9.5 (L. Shotter, Uniontown, PA, U.S.A.); Mar. 2.815, 11.6 (Pearce); 6.451, 10.5 (Shotter); 11.819, 11.5 (Pearce); 18.412, 10.9 (Shotter). F. M. Walter, Stony Brook University, reports on continuing SMARTS observations of N Sgr 2015 = PNV 18142514-2554343. Approximately nightly SMARTS 1.3-m Andicam BVRIJHK photometry shows an initial maximum in B, V, and R bands on or about Days 1.5, 2.5, and 3.5, respectively (Feb. 12.878 UT is taken as Day zero), while the I magnitude stayed flat over this period. The first maximum at J, H, and K occurred between Days 5.5 and 9.5. A second, and brighter, maximum occurred on or before Day 12.5 in B, V, R, and I, while J, H, and K seem to have peaked earlier. Through Day 18.5, maximum magnitudes have been 10.0, 9.2, 8.6, 8.6, 7.4, 6.9, and 6.4 at B, V, R, I, J, H, and K, respectively. Following a minimum on or after Day 15.5, the nova has brightened by 0.1-0.2 mag in all bands. This is likely to be a slow nova. He obtained eleven spectra with the SMARTS Chiron echelle spectrograph on the Cerro Tololo 1.5-m reflector (R = 28000; range 460-880 nm) between Days 3.5 and 18.5, which show that the variable is an "Fe II"- type nova with fairly narrow, boxy emission lines and low-velocity absorption systems. The strongest emission lines are H-alpha and H-beta, He I, O I, Na I, Ca II, and numerous lines of Fe II (multiplets 42, 48, 49, 55, and 74). No hot lines were yet present. On Day 3.5, the H-alpha equivalent width was -0.65 nm, with strong P-Cyg absorption centered about -150 km/s. The absorption trough extended to -500 km/s, and the red tail of the emission to +550 km/s. By Day 9.5, the emission equivalent width had increased to -14.5 nm, while the absorption had accelerated to -220 km/s. The FWZI was about 2500 km/s, centered at about +200 km/s. A large absorption trough with a terminal velocity about -1000 km/s appeared between Days 10.5 and 12.5, coincident with the rise to the second maximum. The most recent spectrogram (Day 18.5) has an EW of -42 nm, FWZI of 2600 km/s, and prominent absorption at -220 and +300 km/s. He I lines at 588 (confused with Na I), 668, and 707 nm were present as redshifted emission with absorption at -220 km/s on Day 6.5. The high-velocity (-1000 km/s) gas was present on Days 9.5-10.5 but had largely disappeared by the time this velocity feature appeared at H I. The He I lines assumed the classical double-horned shape, with FWZI of 1600 km/s, between Days 12.5 and 14.5. SMARTS observations of novae are made possible by support from the office of the Provost of Stony Brook University; SMARTS schedulers at Yale are thanked for accomodating this program. NOTE: These 'Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams' are sometimes superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars. (C) Copyright 2015 CBAT 2015 March 20 (CBET 4079) Daniel W. E. Green