COMMISSION 27 OF THE I. A. U.
         INFORMATION BULLETIN ON VARIABLE STARS
                      Number 1304

                                   Konkoly Observatory
                                   Budapest
                                   1977 July 18




        A SUSPECTED VARIABLE EMISSION-LINE OBJECT
       IN THE DIRECTION OF THE LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD



   A new emission-line object (alpha= 5h45.7m, delta= -71d17', 1975), possibly
associated with the Large Magellanic Cloud, appears to have shown strongly
variable Halpha emission. This object, for which we provide an identification
chart, is not listed in the surveys of either Henize (Ap.J. Suppl. 2, 315,
1956) or Lindsay and Mullan (Irish A.J. 6, 51, 1963). However, on red-
sensitive objective-prism plates, taken with the Curtis Schmidt telescope
at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory on March 24, 1968 and Nov.
15, 1974, it shows a rather strong and sharp Halpha emission line. No continuum
is visible (i.e. V > 15 mag), giving the appearance of a planetary nebula.
At our request, Dr. Henize kindly examined his original LMC survey plates,
which have a limiting magnitude comparable to our own plates, and confirmed
that emission at Halpha was not evident at that epoch.

                          [FIGURE 1]

   Images of this object appear on the charts in the Hodge-Wright atlas
of the LMC and from these one can estimate B~16.0 and V~16.0. It is not listed
among the Harvard variable stars. On deep blue-sensitive objective-prism
plates, also taken with the Curtis telescope on March 20, 1968 and Jan. 7,
1975, the spectrum contains strong emission in the Balmer series and [OIII]
lambda5007 and lambda4959. We also suspect variable emission at 
He II lambda4686 and [OIII] lambda4363. 
The suspected spectral variability would suggest that this is some
type of eruptive variable star rather than a planetary nebula. However,
the available data indicate a rather small range in light variability.





                                      N. SANDULEAK

                                      Warner and Swasey Observatory
                                      E. Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.