2010CBET.2124....1B

V. Burwitz, W. Pietsch, and M. Henze, Max-Planck-Institut fuer Extraterrestrische Physik; A. Updike, Clemson University; P. Milne and G. Williams, University of Arizona; D. H. Hartmann, Clemson University; J. Rodriguez, Observatorio Astronomico de Mallorca (OAM); and S. Holmes, U. Kolb, and R. Lucas, The Open University (TOU), report the discovery of an apparent nova in M31 on two sets of ten 60-s stacked R-band CCD images obtained with the robotic 60-cm telescope (+ E2V CCD camera) of the Livermore Optical Transient Imaging System (Super-LOTIS, located at Steward Observatory, Kitt Peak). The new object has steadily brightened, as indicated by the following R-band magnitudes: Jan. 11.13 UT, 17.6; 12.092, 16.3; 13.094, 15.9. M31N 2010-01a is located at R.A. = 0:42:56.73 ± 0s.03, Decl. = +41:17:21.2 ± 0".3 (equinox 2000.0), which is 140" east and 73" north of the core of M31. M31N 2010-01a was also detected at red mag 16.5 on eleven 120-s stacked unfiltered images obtained with the 0.35-m f/11 TOU/OAM PIRATE Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope (+ SBIG STL-1001E CCD camera) at Costitx, Mallorca, on Jan. 11.77. (All magnitudes were derived from a photometric solution using R magnitudes of the Local Group Survey M31 catalogue of Massey et al. 2006, A.J. 131, 2478.) No object is visible at the position of M31N 2010-01a on a Super-LOTIS image from Jan. 9.09 UT (limiting R magnitude 18.5).