2009CBET.1697....2C

Following posting on the Central Bureau's unconfirmed-objects webpage, S. Ciroi and F. Di Mille, Dipartimento di Astronomia, Universita di Padova; M. Carco, M. Rossi, and P. Rosson, Liceo Scientifico Follador di Agordo; and S. Benetti, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica and Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, report that a spectrogram (range 370-720 nm, resolution 1 nm) of 2009af, obtained on Feb. 18.76 UT at Asiago with the Galileo 1.22-m telescope (+ Boller & Chivens spectrograph) – taken in the framework of the Educational Project of the Astronomy Department "The Sky as Laboratory" (for details, see http://dipastro.pd.astro.it/inglese/projects/progetti_en.html) – shows it to be a type-II supernova. Assuming a recession velocity of 2671 km/s (Schneider et al. 1992, Ap.J. Suppl. 81, 5; via NED) for the host galaxy, the 'GELATO' spectrum-comparison code (Harutyunyan et al. 2008, A.Ap. 488, 383; available at https://gelato.tng.iac.es) provides good fits to spectra of type-II supernovae (SN 1993J included) about 2-3 weeks after explosion. The expansion velocity deduced from the H-alpha absorption is about 14200 km/s.