2012CBET.3036....2J

S. W. Jha, C. McCully, and B. Patel, Rutgers University, report that a spectrum (range 460-980 nm) of 2012ao, taken on Feb. 26.6 UT with the Keck II 10-m telescope (+ DEIMOS), shows it to be a type-Ia supernova approximately three weeks past maximum light. Cross-correlation with a library of supernova spectra using the "Supernova Identification" code (SNID; Blondin and Tonry 2007, Ap.J. 666, 1024) yields a good match to the spectrum of the normal type-Ia supernova 1981B at 20 days past maximum. The spectral features of 2012ao suggest a redshift for its host galaxy of between 0.06 and 0.07.