COMMISSION 27 OF THE I. A. U.
        INFORMATION BULLETIN ON VARIABLE STARS
                     NUMBER 211

                                     Konkoly Observatory
                                     Budapest
                                     27 July 1967


                   NOVA SCUTI 1961


In the course of a survey of red objective prism plates (103aE+RG2), taken with
the Lembang Schmidt telescope, for H-alpha emission objects, a star with very
strong H-alpha emission and almost invisible continuum, was noticed on a plate
taken on May 22, 1961. This very strong H-alpha emission is confirmed on 4
other red spectral plates taken on May 24, 27 and June 9, 15, 1961. However on
a red spectral plate taken on August 22, 1962, no H-alpha emission is visible
at all.

This star has the coordinates:

R.A.=18^h21^m36^s; Dec.=-12d24.'1; (1855).

In the finding chart given below, the star is indicated by a circle.

Unfortunately, no direct plates were taken in the period of May-June, 1961.
The first direct plate taken of this region is on July 13, 1961, exposure 10
min, which shows that the star has a visual magnitude V=15.4 magn., as compared
with an existing magnitude sequence in the galactic cluster NGC 6649. Another
visual direct plate taken on September 10, 1961, shows that the star is about
one magnitude fainter. On direct plates with limiting V magnitude about 17,
taken in 1962, this star is not visible at all. The same is the case on
Palomar Sky chart No. E-296, taken on July 30, 1951.

From these facts the conclusion is drawn, that this star is a nova. It is
hoped that at other observatories Sky Patrol plates exist of the region of the
possible nova, in order to check the above conclusion.


                            [FIGURE 1]

PIKSIN THE,
Bosscha Observatory,
Lembang, Java,
Indonesia.