special notice

Special Notice #377: Reported outburst of the WZ Sge star AL Comae

December 6, 2013: Observer Carlo Gualdoni reports via the cvnet-outburst mailing list that the WZ Sge-type dwarf nova AL Comae is in outburst, with a magnitude of V=12.74 on 2013 December 6.185 (JD 2456633.1185).  Gary Poyner notes on the BAAVSS mailing list that this is the first observed outburst of AL Com since October 2007.  Both visual observations and CCD time series are encouraged.

Special Notice #334: Outburst of the possible old nova GR Ori

February 11, 2013: Observer Rod Stubbings (Tetoora Road, Vic., Australia) reports an outburst of the suspected old nova GR Ori (== Nova Ori 1916), observing the star at a visual magnitude of 13.0 on 2013 February 11.476 UT (JD 2456334.976).  This observation was confirmed by observer Stephen Hovell (Kaitaia, New Zealand), who also reported the star at 13.0 on February 11.461.

Special Notice #256: Request for fast optical time series of SN 2011fe

September 16, 2011: Dr. Bradley Schaefer (LSU) requests fast time series of SN 2011fe over the next several weeks to attempt the detection of fast optical variations in supernova light.

The following request was prepared by Dr. Schaefer which we forward at his request:

Special Notice #253: Request for Observations of MAXI J1836-194

September 10, 2011: Dr. Gregory Sivakoff (U. of Alberta) requests observations of the X-ray binary star MAXI J1836-194 as part of the JACPOT collaboration studying stellar radio jets from compact binaries.  There is no predetermined duration for this campaign, but observations are requested now to coincide with ongoing X-ray and radio observations.

Special Notice #247: Possible Nova in Lupus

Possible Nova in Lupus
August 7, 2011

Nick Brown in vsnet-alert 13560 posts about a possible new nova from his photographic survey:


"The star appears at mag 10.2 photographic, on 2 films taken on August 4.73UT using a 135F2 cannon lens and tmax 400 film.unfiltered. No object is present on film taken on july 5.85UT down to 11.7pg. No previous variable stars are reported at this near position."

The coordinates are: 14 54 20  -55 05 03  J2000

Special Notice #241: New Supernova in M51

June 3, 2010: A new supernova in M51 was discovered by A. Riou and confirmed by several sources, including the Palomar Transient Factory (Silverman et al., ATEL 3398). It is located at 13:30:05.08 +47:10:11.2 J2000 and has a magnitude of about 13.5. Nice images of the supernova can be found at: http://6888comete.free.fr/fr/imageSN.htm PTF also obtained a spectra from Keck, indicating that this is a type II supernova with a relatively blue continuum with P-Cygni profiles in the Balmer series.

Special Notice #240: Possible Nova in Scorpius [V1312 Sco]

June 1, 2011: John Seach (Chatsworth Island, NSW, Australia) has identified a transient object on 3 images taken with a digital SLR camera. The coordinates are: RA 16 55 11 Dec -38 38 12 J2000 The discovery magnitude on June 1.40UT was 9.5 No object was seen on images taken the previous night, and no minor planet, comet or variable star is known at that position. He also does not see any DSS object at those coordinates. Confirmation of this object is requested.

Special Notice #233: Bright outburst of the cataclysmic variable SDSS J133941.11+484727.5

February 7, 2011: The star SDSS J133941.11+484727.5 has been reported in outburst by Jeremy Shears (Bunbury, UK).  Shears reports this star at magnitude 10.4 on 2011 February 7.919 (JD 2455600.419).  This is approximately 7 magnitudes above quiescence, which suggests a superoutburst of an SU UMa star or a WZ Sge-like outburst.  Gary Poyner (Birmingham, UK) confirms this outburst, estimating the star at 10.5 on February 7.959 (2455600.459).