AAVSO International Database

March 15, 2012:  As announced in AAVSO Alert Notice 454 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-alert-notice-454), Dr. Margarita Karovska, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, has requested multiband photometry (all possible bands), high-speed photometry, spectroscopy, and visual observations of the symbiotic variable CH Cyg in support of HST and Chandra observations. She is studying the central region of CH Cyg and its jet.

3 March 2012:  John Seach, Chatsworth Island, NSW, Australia, reports his discovery of a possible nova in Carina [V834 Car] on 2012 February 26.543 UT at magnitude 10.2 on 3 images with digital SLR, 50 mm f/1.0 lens. No object was seen at the location on survey images taken on February 23.424 UT 2012. A possible image of the nova was seen at magnitude 11 (limit of visibility) on an image taken on February 25.733 UT 2012. Seach reports no object was seen on the POSS2 red image, and no variable star, comet, or minor planet was reported at the position.

Campaign continued through 2018. Also, campaign has been updated in Special Notice #417 (20160603), Special Notice #320 (20130109), Special Notice #294 (20120911), Special Notice #268, (20120323 ), and Special Notice #267 (20120315).

February 23, 2012:  Dr. Noel Richardson, Georgia State University, has requested monitoring of the luminous blue variable (LBV) prototype S Doradus as part of a multiwavelength campaign he is coordinating to study the photosphere of this star. At present the observations planned include:

1. UV Spectroscopy from HST
2. Optical spectroscopy from CTIO and an amateur in Australia
3. Near-IR Spectroscopy from SOAR (pending approval)
4. Mid-IR photometry from Gemini (pending approval)

8 February 2012:  Dr. Hans Moritz Guenther, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, has requested bracketing and simultaneous observations in support of XMM-Newton x-ray observations of the classical T Tauri star SU Aur and the close-by Herbig Ae star AB Aur scheduled for February 15 - 17, 2012. The targets are too bright to use the XMM optical monitor for simultaneous monitoring, so your observing assistance is essential for correlation of the x-ray data.

January 21, 2012:  In IAU Central Bureau Electronic Telegram 2974 (Daniel W. E. Green, ed.), B. Moore, J. Newton, and T. Puckett report the discovery of an apparent supernova in the irregular galaxay NGC 3239 at unfiltered magnitude 14.6 taken with a 0.40-m reflector at Portal, AZ, on 2012 Jan. 7.3869 UT in the course of the Puckett Observatory Supernova Search. SN 2012A was confirmed by Puckett at magnitude 14.4 on Jan. 8.3352; nothing is visible down to magnitude 19.0 on his images from 2011 Dec. 29.

Approximate wavelengths for filters accepted for the AAVSO International Database

The filters listed below are used in the AAVSO International Database. For your reference, the approximate effective wavelength is given as well as the Full Width Half Maximum. These filters may be used when submitting observations to the AAVSO via WebObs.

December 15, 2011:  IAU CBAT Central Bureau Electronic Telegram 2943 (Daniel W. E. Green, Ed.) announces the discovery of an apparent supernova in NGC 4984 by Koichi Itagaki, Yamagata, Japan, at unfiltered CCD magnitude 12.7 on 2011 Dec. 9.856 UT.

Coordinates: R.A. = 13 08 58.39  Decl. = -15 31 04.1 (2000.0)
SN 2011iy is 16.6" east and 6.1" south of the nucleus of NGC 4984.