2009CBET.1967....1I

Independent CCD discoveries of an apparent nova in M31 have been made by Koichi Itagaki (Teppo-cho, Yamagata, Japan; from numerous 30-s frames exposed around Oct. 11.414 UT with a 0.60-m f/5.7 reflector; limiting mag 20.0; communicated by S. Nakano, Sumoto, Japan) and by Koichi Nishiyama (Kurume, Fukuoka-ken, Japan) and Fujio Kabashima (Miyaki-cho, Saga-ken, Japan; seven 40-s unfiltered CCD frames, limiting magnitude 19.5, taken around Oct. 11.580 using a 0.40-m f/9.8 reflector). Itagaki measures the new object to be located at R.A. = 0:42:20.77 ± 0s.04, Decl. = +41:16:44.5 ± 0".3 (equinox 2000.0). Nishiyama and Kabashima measure position end figures 20s.78, 44".8 (or 265" west and 36" north of the nucleus of M31). Unfiltered CCD magnitude estimates for M31N 2009-10b: Sept. 26.617, [19.1 (Nishiyama and Kabashima); Oct. 3.596, [18.7 (Nishiyama and Kabashima); 10.586, 18.0 (Nishiyama and Kabashima); 10.629, [19.0 (Itagaki); 11.414, 17.8 (Itagaki); 11.456, 17.2 (Itagaki); 11.522, 17.0 (Itagaki); 11.572, 16.9 (Itagaki); 11.576, 17.0 (T. Yusa, Osaki, Miyagi-ken, Japan, 0.30-m f/8.2 Cassegrain reflector; limiting mag 18.9; position end figures 20s.71, 44".8; communicated by Nakano); 11.580, 17.2 (Nishiyama and Kabashima); 11.728, 16.9 (Itagaki); 11.741, 16.9 (Itagaki). Nishiyama and Kabashima add that nothing is visible at this position on red and infrared Digitized Sky Survey images (no dates or limiting magnitudes provided), and that the nearest star in the M31 catalogue (posted at http://www.lowell.edu/users/massey/lgsurvey.html) has position end figures 20s.67, 43".9 (distance 1".5), with magnitudes V = 22.0, B = 22.7, R = 21.4. The discovery image is posted at the following website URL: http://www.k-itagaki.jp/images/m31-10-11.jpg.