Nova in Carina

Nova Car 2018 or ASASSN-18fv was discovered by the ASAS Supernova network on March 21st and has so far reached around magnitude 6.5 from a progenitor magnitude of 19.9 within a couple of days.

Below is a Stellarium view of the location of ASASSN-18fv, very close to the 5.1 magnitude comparison star near the Eta Carina nebula and star, a variable whose brightness I often estimate.

A binocular finder chart with a slightly different orientation from the Stellarium screenshot is shown below:

https://www.aavso.org/apps/vsp/chart/X22786BFJ.png

This is a crowded area of the sky, and being so close to the 5.1 star, it may be tricky in a low power binocular field.

Rob Kaufman posted this image of the nova, with yet another different orientation:

asassn-18fv2c202120mar20201820text2030-sec

I have not yet had the opportunity to observe the nova; hopefully in a couple of days.

The AAVSO alert notice has more details.

One Response to “Nova in Carina”

  1. astrostevo Says:

    Thanks. 🙂

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