Circular No. 6756
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
Mailstop 18, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.
IAUSUBS@CFA.HARVARD.EDU or FAX 617-495-7231 (subscriptions)
BMARSDEN@CFA.HARVARD.EDU or DGREEN@CFA.HARVARD.EDU (science)
URL http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/cbat.html
Phone 617-495-7244/7440/7444 (for emergency use only)


NOVA IN THE LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD 1997
     The MACHO collaboration (cf. IAUC 6312) reports their
discovery of an apparent nova in the Large Magellanic Cloud at R.A.
= 5h04m26s.7, Decl. = -67o38'38" (equinox 2000.0).  The nova peaked
in brightness sometime between consecutive observations on June
3.398 UT (prior to eruption) and June 16.395 (when the star was at
least 8.5 mag brighter than on June 3, at V about 13.5 or brighter).
Currently, the nova is at V about 17.9.


GRB 970828
     S. Klose, J. Eisloeffel, and B. Stecklum, Thuringer
Landessternwarte Tautenburg, report:  "The GRB error box was
surveyed down to K' = 20 with the Calar Alto 3.5-m telescope on
Sept. 9.8 UT using the MAGIC near-infrared camera (0".81 pixels).
A comparison with R- and I-band images obtained with the
prime-focus CCD camera of the Tautenburg Schmidt telescope on Aug.
30.9, 31.9, Sept. 1.9, and 6.9, and with R-band images taken by
Stanek et al. (IAUC 6735) and by Howk et al. (3.5-m WIYN telescope;
cf. http://www.noao.edu/noao/grb/970828.html), shows that all but
one object visible in K' within the revised ASCA error circle (IAUC
6732) have a counterpart in R and/or I, down to R = 22-23 and I =
20.  This one object at R.A. = 18h08m30s.52, Decl. = +59o18'49".4
(+/- 1", equinox 2000.0) is notably fainter.  Its magnitudes are R
= 23-24 (?) and K' = 19.0 +/- 0.4.  Since no variable was found in
the error box down to R = 24.5 (Odewahn et al., IAUC 6735), we
suppose, however, that we have not detected the GRB afterglow and
constrain its K' magnitude 12 days after the burst to be > 20.
Images are available via
http://www.tls-tautenburg.de/research/research.html."


COMET C/1995 O1 (HALE-BOPP)
     Total visual magnitude estimates:  Sept. 16.76 UT, 4.6 (D. A.
J. Seargent, Cowra, N.S.W., naked eye; during total lunar eclipse);
24.32, 4.8 (J. G. de S. Aguiar, Campinas, Brazil, 11x80 binoculars);
30.44, 5.1 (G. W. Kronk, Troy, IL, 20x80 binoculars); Oct. 4.32,
5.3 (R. Lourencon, Jundiai, SP, Brazil, 20x80 binoculars); 10.84,
5.4 (A. Pearce, Subiaco, W. Australia, 20x80 binoculars); 12.30,
5.2 (Aguiar); 13.84, 5.6 (Pearce).

                      (C) Copyright 1997 CBAT
1997 October 14                (6756)            Daniel W. E. Green