Open AccessThe recovery of the old nova RS Car (1895)
Author(s) -
Bianchini Antonio,
Alford Brian,
Canterna Ronald,
Della Valle Massimo
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-8711.2001.04043.x
Subject(s) - physics , nova (rocket) , astrophysics , spectral line , excitation , emission spectrum , accretion disc , spectral energy distribution , accretion (finance) , high resolution , astronomy , remote sensing , quantum mechanics , geology , aeronautics , engineering
Low‐resolution spectra, taken at La Silla (ESO), identify the old nova RS Car (1895) as a ∼18 mag star located 7 arcsec southwest from the previous published position. This suggests a much brighter absolute magnitude of the old nova, M v ∼5.4, than previously suspected. The spectrum reveals a continuum energy distribution typical of optically thick accretion discs and quite a high excitation state of the gas. The possible detection of the AlO λ 4843 emission band is discussed.