AstroNote 2024-388

Following the discovery of AT 2024aeql (BGEM J132515.39-425833.7) in Centaurus A (NGC 5128)
on 2024-12-23 08:20:36 UT at a magnitude BG-q-BlackGem = 18.47 +/- 0.05 by Tranin et al.
 (TNS Astronomical Transient Report No. 236825) and Scaringi et al. (TNS AstroNote 2024-381), we have carried out follow-up optical imaging with the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope network (LCOGT) 1-m telescopes located at the LCOGT node at Siding Spring Observatory (Australia). AT 2024aeql has been detected also by GOTO (GOTO24jhz, Ramsay et al.,TNS photometry report) on 2024-12-21 16:35:44 UT at L-GOTO = 19.24 +/- 0.19. AT 2024aeql has been classified by ePESSTO+ as a Nova in Centaurus A (Vasallo et al., TNS AstroNote 2024-383 and TNS Classification Report No. 18973).

We observed AT 2024aeql with LCOGT 1-m telescopes equipped with Sinistro cameras in the SDSS g', r', and i' filters. We measure the following magnitudes, calibrated using stars from the catalog of Gaia DR3 synthetic photometry generated from the Gaia BP/RP mean spectra (Gaia collaboration 2022) and not corrected for Galactic extinction, that show a fast flux decline:

g´ =  19.19 +/- 0.09, 60 sec, on 2024-12-23 16:45:26 UT

r´=  18.71 +/- 0.06, 60 sec, on 2024-12-23 16:46:59 UT

i´ = 18.54 +/- 0.07, 60 sec, on 2024-12-23 16:48:32 UT

g´ = 20.52  +/- 0.18, 180 sec, on  2024-12-25 17:21:40 UT

r´= 19.90  +/- 0.11, 180 sec, on 2024-12-25 17:25:11 UT

i' = 19.61 +/- 0.12, 180 sec, on 2024-12-25 17:28:43 UT

Las Cumbres Observatory imaging of AT 2024aeql (first g'-band image finding chart).

This work makes use of observations from the Las Cumbres Observatory global telescope network (program IAC2024B-004) and is part of a course on Astrophysical Techniques of the Master in Astrophysics of the Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain (ULL-ASTRO-MASTER).