We are carrying out the "Pan-STARRS Search for Kilonovae" which is a focused search for intrinsically faint transients, or rapidly evolving transients in galaxies which are closer than 200 Mpc in the ongoing Pan-STARRS Near Earth Object surveys (see Smartt et al. AstroNote 2019-48 for details).
In normal survey mode, Pan-STARRS takes 4 x 45s exposures in w, i or z each night reaching 5 sigma magnitudes of w<22, i<21 and z<20.5 in each frame (see Chambers et al. 2016, 1612.05560).
We report the discovery with Pan-STARRS2 of an intrinsically faint transient PS20ahz (AT2020eyx) in the host galaxy CGCG 077-034, at a redshift of z = 0.045 or d = 194 Mpc (from NED). The transient was discovered at MJD 58931.46 == 2020-03-23.46, at m_w = 20.12 +/- 0.08. It is offset from the host by 12.58" S, 6.50" E (a projected 12.6 kpc radius from the galaxy centre). At this distance the absolute magnitude is M_w = -16.43 (assuming m-M = 36.50 and foreground extinction of A_r = 0.11). Spectroscopic classification is encouraged. A finder is attached.
These discoveries are a byproduct of the Pan-STARRS NEO survey observations supported by the NASA Grants, including No. NNX14AM74G issued through the SSO Near Earth Object Observations Program.
| Catalog | Name | Reported RA | Reported DEC | Reported Obj-Type | Reported Redshift | Host Name | Host Redshift | Remarks | TNS RA | TNS DEC | TNS Obj-Type | TNS Redshift |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TNS | 2020eyx [PS20ahz] | 15:11:14.201 | +11:21:52.76 | 0.045 | 15:11:14.207 | +11:21:52.86 |


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