Bright nova (mag. 6.4) in Hercules

[JeremyS]

Patrick Schmeer has just posted this message on the BAA VSS Alert email system about a likely Nova in Hercules.

TCP J18573095+1653396 = ZTF19aasfsjq  (N:)
(submitted to VSX)

Discovered on 2021 June 12.537 UT at mag. 8.4 by Seiji Ueda (Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan):
https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbat.eps.harvard.edu%2Funconf%2Ffollowups%2FJ18573095%2B1653396.html&data=04|01||eba7e7744ed749da3d2e08d92dbc5fd3|84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa|1|0|637591109342761245|Unknown|TWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D|1000&sdata=Zd70hPK9CmFO2ZmK0dsXs4Jg5wADIKsXbQ6Bcp%2B%2BczU%3D&reserved=0

ZTF light curve, data, and images (via Lasair):
https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Flasair.roe.ac.uk%2Fobject%2FZTF19aasfsjq%2F&data=04|01||eba7e7744ed749da3d2e08d92dbc5fd3|84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa|1|0|637591109342761245|Unknown|TWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D|1000&sdata=BhKmWxT9vvPjvdSJphPLreZfgkYEkq7w%2FitkIzA0tQg%3D&reserved=0

Possibly recorded on the rise (gmag. ~16.3 on June 12.192 UT) by the ASAS-SN Sky Patrol:
https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fasas-sn.osu.edu%2Fsky-patrol%2Fcoordinate%2Fa611fda3-59f1-42fd-8e6d-386b21100256&data=04|01||eba7e7744ed749da3d2e08d92dbc5fd3|84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa|1|0|637591109342761245|Unknown|TWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D|1000&sdata=8OJaT%2FP%2FEtCP0P2J%2FnacpENua9dL%2F%2Bi%2Bex%2F%2BVU5qdZQ%3D&reserved=0

Source No. 4514092717838547584 in Gaia EDR3 (Gmag. 19.95).

Spectroscopy and multiband photometry are urgently required.

Clear skies,
Patrick
-------
References:
All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) Sky Patrol:
- Shappee et al., 2014ApJ...788...48S
- Kochanek et al., 2017PASP..129j4502K
Lasair:
- Smith et al., 2019RNAAS...3...26S
Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF):
- Masci et al., 2019PASP..131a8003M


 

Edited June 13, 2021 by JeremyS

[JeremyS]

Position:

J2000.0  RA 18 57 30.98 Dec +16 53 39.6

[JeremyS]

A 5 deg field chart is available here: https://app.aavso.org/vsp/chart/?star=TCP+J18573095%2B1653396&orientation=visual&type=chart&fov=300.0&maglimit=10.0&resolution=150&north=up&east=left

[saac]

If only it had happened in the winter  - my sky will be way too bright to see much at all.  Thanks for the coordinates Jeremy   

Jim 

[JeremyS]

2 minutes ago, saac said:

If only it had happened in the winter  - my sky will be way too bright to see much at all.  Thanks for the coordinates Jeremy   

Jim 

If it were in winter, Jim, you wouldn't have seen it. It's near the summer constellation of Aquila (between eps Aql and 111 Her). At mag 6.4 it should still be visible in binos in Scotland 🙂

 

[saac]

That makes be feel better   I'm checking Stellarium now to see what my chances may be - I could try out the big Dob .  Thanks for the hint , I need a challenge after missing out on the partial eclipse - weather  

 

Jim 

[JeremyS]

For visual obs, I think binoculars would be the best instrument for this. It is very bright (mag 6.4) so you will need a wide field to get some comparison stars in.

[Grant93]

Sorry, just spotted this whilst planning some observation on this very clear night. Bit of a noob when it comes to things like this but I've never seen a nova before and it will be nice to add it into my list! How do I go about putting them Coordinates into stellarium so I can find this tonight? Thank you!

[saac]

Grant you can open up the search window (little magnifying icon) then use the tab menu to select either object or coordinates.  If you search for eps Aql and 111 Her as Jeremy pointed out that will show you the region of the sky you want to be looking at.  It's between those two stars. 

 

Ok Binos it is then Jeremy . If I have used Stellarium correctly I see what you mean about it being visible (position at least)  - at 2300 hours onward it should be high enough to clear my Eastern skyline view.  It is till pretty light then but as you say at mag 6.4 it will be worth a try.  To be honest it may even make it easier to find if it outshines any background distractions.  Quite excited , I've never knowingly seen a Nova  

 

Jim 

[Captain Scarlet]

I’ll have a go at it myself tonight, just setting up for a session anyway

[Pixies]

Here we go again...

 

[Pixies]

In jeremy's chart:

1 - FF Aqilae - HD 176155 (mag 5.3)

2 - HD 175743 (mag 5.7)

red dot marks the spot:

 

Good luck, everyone!

[JeremyS]

39 minutes ago, Pixies said:

In jeremy's chart:

1 - FF Aqilae - HD 176155 (mag 5.3)

2 - HD 175743 (mag 5.7)

red dot marks the spot:

 

Good luck, everyone!

Thanks, but please don’t use FF Aql as a comparison as it’s a variable star itself (mag 5.2 to 5.5)! Otherwise we’ll end up in a terrible mess 😊

[Pixies]

10 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Thanks, but please don’t use FF Aql as a comparison as it’s a variable star itself (mag 5.2 to 5.5)! Otherwise we’ll end up in a terrible mess 😊

Lol. Okay! 🤦‍♂️

[Stu]

Got it! Thanks Jeremy.

[Malpi12]

9 minutes ago, Stu said:

Got it! Thanks Jeremy.

Well done ! Yes, nice one Jeremy 

I have not,,, what I have got is another tree ! Another hour perhaps ,?  unless I go for a long walk down the lane

 

[JeremyS]

I caught it at mag 6.3 at 22h 12m UT, tonight Jun 12. I used 8 x 42 bins

[saac]

Hopelessly clouded over here at the moment  - the whole galaxy would need to go supernova to burn it off  

Jim

[chiltonstar]

Just had a look with the 15x70s and SkySafari - fairly easy to spot and visibly a different colour to Epsilon Aquilae and 111 Her.

Chris

[Astro Noodles]

I'm going to have a go at imaging this tonight. I'll be dead chuffed if I ca get a decent image.

[Stu]

Hopefully this is it…

[saac]

4 minutes ago, Stu said:

Hopefully this is it....

Nice capture Stu,  what did you use for that ?  

Jim

[Stu]

Just now, saac said:

Nice capture Stu,  what did you use for that ?  

Jim

Thanks Jim.

Tak with a 24mm Panoptic, iPhone held at the eyepiece just using the iOS app on 3 second exposure.

Spotted it in Binos first, then quite easy to get the finder scope on it.

I was confused at first because it’s only just in the far edge of Hercules isn’t it! Not where I was expecting it to be in the sky!

[Littleguy80]

Got it with my 80mm refractor using a 40mm eyepiece at 12.5x. It’s brighter than HD176441 (Mag 7.1). I’d guess it’s around 6.8-6.9. FF Aql is a great reference point. 

Massive thanks to @JeremyS and @Pixies for the heads up and charts to find this. Very chuffed to get another Nova. 

[saac]

7 minutes ago, Stu said:

Thanks Jim.

Tak with a 24mm Panoptic, iPhone held at the eyepiece just using the iOS app on 3 second exposure.

Spotted it in Binos first, then quite easy to get the finder scope on it.

I was confused at first because it’s only just in the far edge of Hercules isn’t it! Not where I was expecting it to be in the sky!

Lovely,  right that's it Stu  you've given me the inspiration and motivation  to persevere. I'll stay up for another hour to see if it clears  but most likely I'll try tomorrow.  

Jim