Supernova 1986A in NGC 3367

L. Cameron and B. Leibundgut report their independent discovery of this object (cf. IAUC 4173) on a plate taken Feb. 4.1 UT with the Swope telescope at Las Campanas Observatory; they note the supernova at B about 14 and offset 24" east and 1" south from the galaxy's nucleus. Following requests from the Bureau for spectroscopic confirmation, R. Kirshner, Center for Astrophysics, relayed that J. Huchra observed the supernova on Feb. 5 with the 1.5-m reflector at the Whipple Observatory and found the sharp absorption of Si II at 615.0 nm, indicating the object to be a type-I supernova near maximum light. J. C. Wheeler, University of Texas at Austin, also responding to our request, relayed similar information from observers at McDonald Observatory who observed on the following night. Kirshner notes that photometry is very important now while the supernova is near maximum brightness.