SIMBAD references

Kamil Hornoch, Astronomical Institute, Ondrejov; Ondrej Pejcha, and Robert F. Wing, Department of Astronomy, Ohio State University; Ovidiu Vaduvescu and Andrew Cardwell, Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes; and Jose L. Prieto, Carnegie Observatories, report their results of photometry and spectroscopy of the presumed nova announced on CBET 2379. In view of the apparent red color of the object and lack of strong H_alpha emission (see photometric measurements below), Vaduvescu and Cardwell obtained a low- resolution optical spectrum (range 350-900 nm, resolution 1.3 nm) with the 4.2-m William Herschel Telescope (+ ACAM) at La Palma on July 23.15 UT. The spectrum shows TiO absorption bands consistent with an M2 star. The luminosity-sensitive features at rest wavelength 649.7 nm and a broad CN absorption at 795 nm are present, and their strengths suggest a supergiant luminosity. There is a narrow (consistent with instrumental profile) and weak H_alpha emission with equivalent width 0.46 nm. The radial velocity of H_alpha emission is -290 ± 40 km/s, which favors membership in M31 but does not disprove membership in M32. The implied absolute magnitude is about M_R = -4.7. In addition, they found that M32N 2010-07a is possibly associated with a rather red object in the catalogue of variable stars from the POINT-AGAPE survey (An et al. 2004, MNRAS, 351, 1017). The object with number 95143 has a period of 258 days and is located at R.A. = 0:42:32.515, Decl. = +40:53:36.783 (equinox 2000.0), which is 0".7 east and 0".1 south from the best position of M32N 2010-07a obtained from the recent images taken by D. Pinfield, B. Sipocz, and G. Kovacs with the 2.54-m Isaac Newton Telescope (+ WFC) at La Palma. Based on the available evidence, they propose that M32N 2010-07a is a long-period variable star currently slowly declining from maximum brightness.