An optical transient, initially designated PNV J19450648+1822422, was found in Sagitta with the NMW-TexasTech survey on August 25 as detailed in the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. Once confirmed as a nova, the designation was changed to N Sge 2026. It’s also known as V0488 Sge since it is (amazingly) the 488th variable in Sagitta.
Sagitta (Sge), the arrow, propelled by the bow of Sagittarius the archer, is a small constellation in the northern sky below Aquila, as shown in the wide-field Stellarium screenshot above. The approximate location of the nova is also shown.
The first image above results from stacking a hundred or so images, with noise removal, taken on August 27 starting at about 10:05pm with my Seestar S50. The nova is at centre and before discovery would not have been visible in this field.
The second image is a screenshot of photometry (using Tycho Tracker) carried out with a median stack of 42 of the best individual images. The small green squares in the lower left and right quadrants mark the location of the comparison stars I used for the photometry, and these stars are also visible in the first image.
The nova has so far reached a maximum visual magnitude of 6.9, up from its precursor magnitude of 21.3. At the time of writing, this is a plot of most visual observations submitted to AAVSO since discovery, with mine under the crosshairs. It is currently in decline but could very well become brighter again, and as always, we’ll see.
Sagitta fills the field of view of my 8×42 binoculars, and although I observed the location of the nova while imaging it with the Seestar, the nova and comparison star magnitudes, combined with a more than 99% illuminated Moon (effectively full) to the upper right of the field, made a visual estimate very difficult. As Luna rises later over the next few days, visual observation will be easier, but the nova may also be dimmer. The Seestar’s small field of view and sensitive imager provides an effective approach under these conditions.
An AAVSO finder chart suitable for attempting a binocular or telescopic visual observation is shown below, at least until it falls below magnitude 9.
