Related papers: Was there a (super)nova in 1408?

Using the Chandra/ACIS-I detector, we have identified an X-ray source (CXOU 132619.7-472910.8) in the globular cluster NGC 5139 with a thermal spectrum identical to that observed from transiently accreting neutron stars in quiescence. The…

The optical afterglow of the gamma-ray burst GRB 970508 (z = 0.835) was a few hundred times more luminous than any supernova. Therefore, a name `hypernova' is proposed for the whole GRB/afterglow event. There is tentative evidence that the…

We report observations during 2008 October of the first recorded superoutburst of a previously unknown SU UMa-type dwarf nova in Draco located at 19h 14m 43.52s +60d 52m 14.1s (J2000). Simbad lists a 21st magnitude star at this position…

We present optical and infrared spectroscopy of V1309 Sco, an object that erupted in 2008 in a stellar-merger event. During the outburst, V1309 Sco displayed characteristics typical of red transients, a class of objects similar to V838 Mon.…

We present the discovery of a red supergiant star that exploded as supernova 2003gd in the nearby spiral galaxy M74. The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the Gemini Telescope imaged this galaxy 6 to 9 months before the supernova explosion…

Cataclysmic variable stars (CVs) are close binary systems consisting of a white dwarf (primary) that is accreting matter from a low-mass companion star (secondary). From time to time such systems undergo large-amplitude brightenings. The…

We present the 13-year light curve of HW Boo between 2001 May and 2014 May. We identified 12 outbursts, which typically lasted 2 to 5 days, with an amplitude of 2.7 to 3.6 magnitudes. Time resolved photometry during two outbursts revealed…

We have made thirteen positive identifications of near-ultraviolet (NUV) transient sources in the giant elliptical galaxy M87 using the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). We give a…

The close encounter of Comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) with Mars on October 19, 2014 presented an extremely rare opportunity to obtain the first flyby quality data of the nucleus and inner coma of a dynamically new comet. However, the…

Bright optical transients (i.e. transients typically visible with the naked eye) are populated mainly by novae eruptions plus a few supernovae (among which the SN1987a event). One bright nova happen every two years, either in the North ot…

We report the serendipitous discovery of VVV-WIT-12, an unusual variable source that seems to induce variability in its surrounding nebula. The source belongs to the rare objects that we call WITs (short for What Is This?) discovered within…

Context. Nova Eridani (2009) caught the eye of the nova community due to its fast decline from maximum, which was initially missed, and its subsequent development in the radio and X-ray wavelengths. This system also exhibits properties…

We present a moderately-deep JK photometry for three selected areas of the dwarf irregular galaxy IC1613. The color-magnitude diagrams contain a mixture of red supergiants, asymptotic giant branch stars and the brightest red giant stars.…

We report on time-resolved photometry of the superoutburst of an SU UMa-type dwarf nova, SDSS J013701.06-091234.9 in 2003 December-2004 January. The obtained light curves definitely show superhumps with a period of 0.056686 (12) d, which is…

We present late-time Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescope imaging of SN 2008S and NGC 300 2008OT-1, the prototypes of a common class of stellar transients whose true nature is debated. Both objects are still fading and are now >15 times…

We present 39 nights of optical photometry, 34 nights of infrared photometry, and 4 nights of optical spectroscopy of the Type Ia SN 1999ac. This supernova was discovered two weeks before maximum light, and observations were begun shortly…

We present a 4 year light curve of a cataclysmic variable in M22, based on an analysis of accumulated data from the MOA microlensing survey. The position of the star coincides with that of a transient event observed by HST in 1999,…

We present the observation of an extraordinary luminous soft X-ray transient, MAXI J0158-744, by the Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) on 2011 November 11. This transient is characterized by a soft X-ray spectrum, a short duration (1.3…

We report on initial progress in a program of optical identification of supersoft X-ray sources in M31, pursued mainly with the WIYN telescope. We propose the identification of one supersoft X-ray source with a variable star, which we…

We review some applications of the method of electronic searching for historical observations of sunspots and aurorae in the Chinese text corpus by Hayakawa et al. etc. However, we show strong shortcomings in the digital search technique as…