2011CBET.2684....3B

D. D. Balam, Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, National Research Council of Canada (NRCC); M. L. Graham, Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope, University of California at Santa Barbara; E. Y. Hsiao, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory; G. Sarty, University of Saskatchewan; and D. W. E. Green, Harvard University, report that a spectrogram (range 361-670 nm, resolution 0.3 nm) of PSN J12043294+2012114 = SN 2011bc, obtained on Apr. 7.34 UT with the 1.82-m Plaskett Telescope of the NRCC, shows it to be a type-Ia supernova before maximum light. Cross-correlation with a library of supernova spectra using the "Supernova Identification" code (Blondin and Tonry 2007, Ap.J. 666, 1024) indicates that 2011bc is most similar to the type-Ia supernova 1999ee at one week before maximum light.