2012CBET.3282....1K

A. Klotz, Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planetologie, on behalf of the TAROT Collaboration, reports the discovery of an apparent supernova (mag about 15.3) on public images taken on Aug. 19.122 UT by the 0.25-m robotic telescope TAROT at the La Silla observatory, Chile. The new object is located approximately at R.A. = 21:01:58.99, Decl. = -48:16:25.9 (equinox 2000.0), which is 7" west and 2" north of the nucleus of ESO 235-G37. The variable was designated PSN J21015899-4816259 when it was posted at the Central Bureau's TOCP webpage and is here designated SN 2012fw based on the spectroscopic confirmation reported below. Additional CCD magnitudes for 2012fw: Aug. 7.133, [18.6 (Klotz); 10.313, 16.5 (Klotz; pre-discovery); 23.517, 16.3 (Joseph Brimacombe, Cairns, Australia; infrared filter; wavelength > 700 nm; position end figures 58s.97, 26".8; image posted at website URL http://www.flickr.com/photos/43846774@N02/7848777388/). Klotz writes that spectroscopy of 2012fw was obtained by F. Colas (Institut de Mecanique Celeste et de Calcul des Ephemerides, Paris) with A. Peyrot and J. P. Teng (Association de Gestion de l'Observatoire Reunionnais d'Astronomie, Les Makes, Reunion island), using the 60-cm telescope (+ grating filter with low dispersion of 4.8 nm/pixel) at Les Makes, Reunion island on Aug. 21.6; comparison with spectra provided by C. Buil at URL http://www.astrosurf.com/buil/supernovae/2011/index.htm suggests similarity to the type-Ia supernova 2011fe at five days before maximum when redshifted to z = 0.0186 (the redshift of the presumed host galaxy, ESO 235-G37), with Si II lines being identified. Additional information from Klotz was posted at URL http://cador.obs-hp.fr/sn_tarot/PSN_J21015899-4816259/.