2002AJ....124.3009V

We present 0.8-2.5 µm near-IR spectrophotometry of the very fast nova Nova Sagittarius 1999 (V4444 Sgr) taken 125 days after outburst. The emission-line spectrum of V4444 Sgr, with features ranging from C I to [Si IX] and [Si VIII], exhibited perhaps the greatest spread of excitation for any single-epoch observation of a nova. However, two other novae, Nova Sagittarius 1992 No. 2 and Nova Aquila 1993, had spectra similar to V4444 Sgr between 0.8 and 1.4 µm, so such manifestations may not be uncommon. The continuum of V4444 Sgr showed a significant rise longward of 1.5 µm indicative of thermal emission from dust. The absence of any dust features in the light curve of V4444 Sgr suggests that we may have a relatively unobscured line of sight, or that some or all of the circumstellar dust was preexisting. The latter would indicate that V4444 Sgr is possibly a recurrent nova.