Nova V1280 SCORPII has brightened to magnitude 3.7 (naked eye!!!)
R.A. = 16h 57m 41s.0, Decl. =-32d 20m 34s(equinox 2000.0, uncertainty about 30");

This is just south of Jupiter in the eastern morning sky.

From IAUC 8807ol

This nova (cf. IAUC 8803) has brightened greatly in the last
week. Selected visual estimates (some from H. Yamaoka via VSNET,
and some sent by E. Waagen, AAVSO): Feb. 8.323 UT, 8.0 (A. Amorim,
Florianopolis, Brazil); 10.844, 7.5 (K. Kanai, Gunma, Japan);
11.794, 7.0 (Kanai); 12.326, 6.5 (Amorim); 12.790, 6.2 (Kanai);
12.86, 6.6 (Y. Sakurai, Mito, Ibaraki-ken, Japan; via S. Nakano);
13.246, 6.0 (J. Ripero, Madrid, Spain); 14.782, 5.4 (Kanai);
15.215, 5.2 (Ripero); 15.851, 4.5 (Kanai); 16.212, 4.2 (W. Kriebel,
Schierling/Walkenstetten, Germany); 16.323, 3.9 (Amorim); 16.231,
3.8 (P. Schmeer, Bischmisheim, Germany); 16.458, 3.7 (M. Simonsen,
Imlay City, MI).
H. Yamaoka, Kyushu University, writes that low-resolution
spectroscopy obtained by M. Fujii (Ibara, Okayama, Japan) on Feb.
12.88 and 14.83 UT, and by H. Naito (Nishi-Harima Astronomical
Observatory) on Feb. 14.86, shows a much bluer continuum than in the
spectroscopy taken on Feb. 5.87 (cf. IAUC 8803); the new spectra
resemble the spectrum of an F-type star. Balmer lines (relatively
weaker than in the Feb. 5 spectrum) show clear P-Cyg profiles
(expansion velocity about 500 km/s), along with other weak lines.

From IAUC. 8803

V1280 SCORPII = NOVA SCORPII 2007
Reports of apparently independent discoveries of a possible
nova have been received by the Central Bureau: H. Yamaoka, Kyushu
University, communicates the discovery of a new object (mag 9.9) by
Yuji Nakamura (Kameyama, Mie, Japan) on two unfiltered CCD images
taken on Feb. 4.8624 UT with a 135-mm camera lens, with the
position of the variable measured to be R.A. = 16h57m41s.0, Decl. =
-32o20'34" (equinox 2000.0, uncertainty about 30"); nothing was
detected at this position with the same equipment on Jan. 29.8669
(limiting mag 12.0) or Feb. 2.8662 (limiting mag 11.0). S. Nakano,
Sumoto, Japan, reports the discovery by Yukio Sakurai (Mito,
Ibaraki-ken) of the same star at mag 9.4 on two 10-s CCD exposures
taken on Feb. 4.854 (correction to time given on CBET 834) using a
Fuji FinePix S2 Digital Camera (+ Nikon 180-mm f/2.8 lens), the
position measured to be R.A. = 16h57m40s.91, Decl. = -32o20'36".4;
nothing is visible on a CCD frame taken by Sakurai on Feb. 2.8.
Nakano adds that he has measured the variable's position from one
of Sakurai's images, yielding position end figures 41s.24, 36".5.
Nakano also writes that K. Kadota has confirmed the variable at mag
8.9 on an unfiltered CCD image taken on Feb. 5.818 with a 0.25-cm
f/5 reflector, providing position end figures 41s.20, 35".8.
H. Naito and S. Narusawa, Nishi-Harima Astronomical
Observatory (NHAO), report that they obtained a low-dispersion
spectrum (range 410-670 nm; resolution 1600 at H_alpha) of N Sco
2007 on Feb. 5.87 UT with the 2.0-m NAYUTA telescope (+ MALLS).
The spectrum shows a smooth continuum with many lines (H_alpha,
H_beta, He I 492- and 501.5-nm, and Fe II 516.3-nm) with P-Cyg
profiles, which suggests that the variable is indeed a classical
nova caught near maximum light. The FWHM of the H_alpha emission
is 400 km/s, and its absorption minimum is blueshifted by 480 km/s
from the emission peak (measured by a Gaussian fitting).
N. N. Samus, Institute of Astronomy, Russian Academy of
Sciences, advises the Bureau that the nova reported above has been
given the designation V1280 Sco.

__________________
Heaven's Gate Observatory H47
32° 15' 59"N, 90° 51' 22"W
http://www.quantumhyperspace.com/

Saw it this morning.

A nova--my first. Fricken' WOW!

__________________
"Call me old-fashioned, but I think fire is magic. And it scares me a lot."

--The State

Someone should post some pictures of this, if they haven't already.

__________________
Sometimes I think we're alone. Sometimes I think we're not. In either case, the prospect is staggering!

Got a pic? Sorry, weather's been bad here for sometime. How long is it gonna stay that way anyway?

__________________
- Learn a lot teaching others.

Bad weather, and it's too low to see anyway (I think it doesn't even rise here)...

i went out this morning and couldn't see it.

Hi all,

I took a digicam pic of the nova & surroundings this morning (Feb 19.05); see

http://www.psychohistorian.org/astro...a-scorpii.html

Regards,
Auke