The 1989 Outburst of V404-CYGNI - a Very Unusual X-Ray Nova

On May 22, 1989 the Japanese Ginga Team discovered a new X-ray source that was cataloged as GS 2023+338. This source was subsequently identified as coincident in position with a previously known nova cataloged as V404 Cygni. Its last recorded outburst was in 1938 when it rose to about 12th mag. Spectroscopic data were obtained and confirmed the nature of the outburst. Additional ground based data were obtained by us at CTIO and the VLA. The X-ray behavior of this object has been reported to be very unusual and it reached a peak of about 17 crab about one week after discovery. Since then it has varied widely in magnitude at all wavelengths at which it has been studied. We present a brief summary of the observations that have been obtained up to the time of the meeting and shortly thereafter.