2012CBET.3120....1D

Colin Drescher, Calamvale, Queensland, Australia, reports the discovery of an apparent supernova (red mag 17.6) on unfiltered CCD images taken on May 18.479 and 19.307 UT by Stuart Parker (Oxford, Canterbury, New Zealand) with a 35-cm Celestron C14 reflector (+ ST10 CCD camera). The new object is located at R.A. = 13:28:43.43, Decl. = -48:54:35.6 (equinox 2000.0; magnitude and position measured by Drescher), which is 7" west and 25" north of the nucleus of the galaxy NGC 5156. Nothing is visible at this position on an image taken by Parker on May 3.594 (limiting red mag 18.8). The variable was designated PSN J13284343-4854356 when it was posted at the Central Bureau's TOCP webpage and is here designated SN 2012cj based on the spectroscopic confirmation reported below.