Circular No. 7078
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)


POSSIBLE NOVA IN MUSCA
     W. Liller, Vina del Mar, Chile, reports his discovery of an
apparent nova (mag 8.5) on Technical Pan photographs taken with
PROBLICOM on Dec. 29.3090 and 29.3123 UT with an 85-mm camera lens
(+ orange filter); he gave the location of the new star as R.A. =
11h56m.2, Decl. = -65o34' (equinox 2000.0).  Nothing brighter than
mag 11.5 appears at this location on photographs taken on Dec. 20.
A CCD observation by Liller shows the star was at mag V = 9.45 on
Dec. 30.1465.  A. Pearce, Nedlands, W. Australia, estimated m_v =
10.0 on Dec. 30.80, providing the position as R.A. = 11h56m.2,
Decl. = -65o33'.


GRB 981226
     F. Frontera and E. Montanari, Universita, Ferrara; L. A.
Antonelli, Osservatorio Astronomico, Rome; P. Giommi, Agenzia
Spaziale Italiana, Rome; L. Piro, IAS, CNR, Rome; M. R. Daniele, A.
Coletta, and C. De Libero, BeppoSAX, Rome, on behalf of a large
collaboration, report: "The BeppoSAX Wide Field Camera error box of
GRB 981226 (IAUC 7074) was observed with the BeppoSAX Narrow Field
Instruments (NFI) starting about 11 hr after the burst in the
period Dec. 26.878-29.148 UT.  Preliminary analysis of MECS2+3 data
shows a previously unknown x-ray source, 1SAX J2329.6-2356, located
at R.A. = 23h29m36s.0, Decl. = -23o55'58" (equinox 2000.0), with an
error radius of 1'.  During the first 33.3 hr of observation, the
2-10-keV source flux decreases by a factor 3, from 0.0043 +/-
0.0010 counts/s, corresponding to (3.0 +/- 0.7) x 10E-13 ergE-1
cmE-2, down to 0.00167 +/- 0.00046 counts/s, corresponding to (0.98
+/- 0.30) x 10E-13 ergE-1 cmE-2.  The measurements during the
subsequent 18.36 hr show that the flux of 1SAX J2329.6-2356 does
not vary significantly from the last value.  Very likely this
source is the x-ray afterglow of GRB 981226."


COMET P/1998 Y2 (LI)
     As indicated on IAUC 7075, additional observations have shown
that this is indeed a short-period comet with P about 15.2 yr.  The
revised orbit has been issued on MPEC 1998-Y41.


SUPERNOVAE 1998es AND 1998ey
     CCD R magnitudes by E. Prosperi, Larciano, Italy:  1998es in
NGC 632, Dec. 26.84 UT, 14.6; 1998ey in NGC 7080, Dec. 26.73, 16.8.

                      (C) Copyright 1998 CBAT
1998 December 30               (7078)            Daniel W. E. Green