2003IAUC.8188....2V

K. Volk, Gemini South Observatory (GSO), La Serena; R. Blum, Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory, La Serena; G. Walker, University of British Columbia; and P. Puxley, GSO, report their detection of a faint companion to the nearby brown dwarf epsilon Ind B (Scholz et al. 2003, A.Ap. 398, L29) on Aug. 18 and 20 with the Acquisition Camera and the Phoenix spectrometer at GSO. The separation is 0".62 ± 0".02 in p.a. 133.4 ± 0.5 deg in 1.28-micron narrowband images, corresponding to a projected separation of 2.1 AU at the distance of epsilon Ind B. Due to its large proper motion, epsilon Ind B is 17".6 from its discovery position, or now at R.A. = 22h04m12s.415, Decl. = -56o47'05".66 (equinox 2000.0); there is nothing at this position in the 1999.855-epoch 2-MASS J-band image on which epsilon Ind B was discovered. The companion is bright enough to have been detected (at S/N = 300) in the 2-MASS image if it is a background star; this fact and its unusual colors lead the authors to tentatively identify it as a late T-type brown dwarf (cf. Burgasser et al. 2002, Ap.J. 564, 421; Geballe et al. 2002, Ap.J. 564, 466) or a large planet. The following relative brightnesses of the new object (as a percentage of the brightness of epsilon Ind B) were measured from I-band and various narrowband Phoenix filters: I approximately 0.25; [1.083 microns], 0.53; [1.282 microns], 0.65; [1.556 microns], 0.29; [2.106 microns], 0.17; [2.321 microns], < 0.03.