2011CBET.2938....1C

F. Ciabattari and E. Mazzoni, Borgo a Mozzano, Italy, report their discovery of an apparent supernova (mag 16.9) on unfiltered CCD images (limiting magnitude 19.1) obtained on Nov. 27.78 and 29.79 UT with a 0.5-m Newtonian telescope in the course of the Italian Supernovae Search Project. The new object is located at R.A. = 22:02:44.45, Decl. = +31:41:49.1 (equinox 2000.0; astrometry with respect to UCAC-2 stars), which is 5" east and 4" north of the center of the galaxy PGC 67911. Nothing is visible at this position in their images from this past September (limiting magnitude 19.1). The variable was designated PSN J22024445+3141491 when it was posted at the Central Bureau's TOCP webpage and is here designated SN 2011it based on the spectroscopic confirmation reported below. Additional magnitudes for 2011it (from unfiltered images unless noted otherwise): 1987 Aug. 26, [20.3 (Palomar Sky Survey, F plate; via Ciabattari); 1989 July 8, [20.3 (Palomar Sky Survey, J plate; via Ciabattari); 2011 Nov. 30.041, 16.5 (R. A. Koff, Bennett, CO, USA; Meade 0.25-m f/10 reflector + Apogee AP-47p camera; limiting magnitude 18.9; position end figures 44s.39, 48".0; UCAC3 reference stars; image posted at website URL http://antelopehillsobservatory.org/SNpictures/PSNJ22024445+3141491final.jpg); 30.150, 16.7 (Joseph Brimacombe, Cairns, Australia; remotely using a 51-cm RCOS telescope + STL11K camera + luminance filter at New Mexico Skies Observatory near Mayhill, New Mexico; position end figures 44s.44, 48".5; image posted at http://www.flickr.com/photos/43846774@N02/6433494795/).

L. Tomasella, A. Pastorello, S. Valenti, and S. Benetti, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, on behalf of a larger collaboration, report that a spectrogram of PSN J22024445+3141491 = SN 2011it, obtained on Nov. 29.96 UT with the Asiago 1.82-m Copernico Telescope (+ AFOSC; range 350-820 nm; resolution 2.4 nm) by the Service Telescope Operating Team, shows it to be a broad-line type-Ic supernova. The best fit to this spectrum found by GELATO (Harutyunyan et al. 2008, A.Ap. 488, 383; available at URL https://gelato.tng.iac.es/login.cgi) suggests that 2011it is similar to SN 1998bw (Patat et al. 2001, Ap.J. 555, 900) and SN 2003jd (Valenti et al. 2008, MNRAS 383, 1485) between one and two weeks after maximum light, adopting for the host galaxy a redshift of z = 0.015894 (de Vaucouleurs et al. 1991, RC3 catalogue, via NED).