2006CBET..450....1P

F. Patat and D. Baade, European Southern Observatory (ESO); and L. Wang, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, report that they observed SN 2006bc (cf. CBET 446; IAUC 8693) on Mar. 28.06 UT with the ESO Very Large Telescope (+ FORS1 in polarimetric mode). A flux-calibrated spectrum (range 340-855 nm, resolution 1.3 nm FWHM) shows that this is a type-II supernova. Narrow emission lines of the hydrogen Balmer series are overimposed on a rather blue continuum (B-V = +0.2, V-R = +0.3, deduced from synthetic photometry). The hydrogen lines, most likely disturbed by the presence of unresolved emissions generating in an underlying H II region, appear to be asymmetric, with a hint of P-Cyg profile on the blue wing. The typical expansion velocity deduced from the FWHM of these lines is about 2000 km/s. Interstellar Na I D unresolved lines originating both in the Milky Way and in the host galaxy are clearly visible. Their equivalent widths are comparable and of the order of 0.1 nm. Given this fact and the Galactic extinction listed via NED (A_v = 0.7; from Schlegel et al. 1998, Ap.J. 500, 525), the supernova is most likely suffering substantial reddening. The blue intrinsic color implied by this fact, coupled to the very recent negative detection by Martin (CBET 446), indicates that the supernova was caught in a rather early stage.