SIMBAD references

We present JHK photometry and low-resolution HK spectroscopy of IRAS 18576+0341, a galactic Luminous Blue Variable (LBV) candidate. The star is heavily reddened with observed magnitudes J=13.21, H=9.88 and K=8.06. These values and previously published photometry define a lightcurve with an amplitude of ≃1.4mag between 1999 June and 2001 August, quite compatible with what is observed for well-studied LBVs, i.e. AG Carinae and HR Carinae. The spectrum of IRAS 18576+0341 is characterised by prominent H, He and Fe emissions, which are recurrent features in the spectra of well known LBVs such as He 3-519. These findings together with the recent detection of an associated circumstellar nebula (Ueta et al., 2001ApJ...548.1020U) confirm the LBV nature of IRAS 18576+0341.