SIMBAD references

Optical (BVRI) photometry of the first three weeks of the 2016 outburst of the recurrent Nova LMC 1968 is presented and discussed. The 2016 I-band light curve is an exact replica, even in the most minute details, of that for the 2010 eruption. The maximum is inferred to have occurred on 2016 Jan 21.2 at I=11.5 mag, corresponding to an absolute magnitude =-7.15. A 1 day long plateau is present in all bands about six days past optical maximum, simultaneous with the emergence of super-soft X-ray emission in Swift observations, signalling the widespread ionization of the ejecta. The nova entered a much longer plateau about 9 days past maximum, governed by the brightness of the white dwarf, now directly visible and still nuclearly burning on its surface. A recurrence period of 955 days would fit both the OGLE inter-season gaps and the observed intervals between previous outburts.