2010CBET.2176....1N

S. Nakano, Sumoto, Japan, reports the discovery by Hideo Nishimura (Miyawaki, Kakegawa, Shizuoka-ken, Japan) of a 9th-magnitude possible nova on two 13-s frames taken on Feb. 18.845 UT using a Minolta 120-mm f/3.5 lens and a Canon EOS 5D Digital camera mounted on a Takahashi EM100 equatorial telescope. Nakano measured limiting mag 12.7 from Nishimura's JPEG image, mag 9.4 for the variable, and the following precise position (uncertainty ± 4"): R.A. = 17:26:32.19, Decl. = -28:49:36.3 (equinox 2000.0). Nishimura notes that nothing is visible at this position on his frames taken during each month in the span 2009 Feb.-Oct. 15 and on 2010 Feb. 2, 4, 5, 7, and 13.84 UT (limiting mag 11). Nakano forwards the following position end figures for the presumed nova from an unfiltered CCD exposure taken by K. Itagaki on Feb. 19.778 using a 0.30-m f/7.8 reflector (+ Bitran BT-214E CCD camera) at the Takanezawa station, Tochigi-ken, Japan: 32s.08, 38".5 (magnitude 9.0); his image is posted at the following website URL: http://www.k-itagaki.jp/images/pn-oph.jpg. Nakano further notes that K. Kadota (Ageo, Japan, 0.25-m f/5 reflector + SBIG ST-9E CCD camera) measured mag 8.9 and position end figures 32s.11, 39".0 from four 4-s exposures (limiting mag 16.5) taken on Feb. 19.825.