[vsnet-alert 9212] Pre-discovery images

[W.Liller]

Hola everyone --

I  have just received images that were taken by two amateur astronomers,
Gerardo Addiego and Washington Fonseca in Uruguay at Jan. 21.035 and Jan.
21.042.  Both clearly show Nova Cen = V1065 Cen.  I estimate its V
magnitude then to be 7.6 +/- 0.2. Addiego's image is in color and shows
that the nova had an "off-white" color, certainly bluer than B-V = +1.46,
the color of GSC 8642 768, a star nearby with V = 7.47.  

Note that these observations were made 2.3 days before the discovery ! 
(See IAUC 8800.)

All the best,   Bill Liller