TNS Astronomical Transient Report No. 303103 [ 2026TNSTR2050....1R ]

Date Received (UTC): 2026-05-11 09:01:34
Date made public:
Sender: BTSbot_bot
Reporting Group: ZTF     Discovery Data Source: ZTF

Nabeel Rehemtulla (CIERA, NU), Wynn Jacobson-Galán (Caltech), Theophile du Laz (Caltech) on behalf of ZTF report/s the discovery of a new astronomical transient.

IAU Designation: AT 2026mbj
Discoverer internal name: ZTF26aavrsod
Coordinates (J2000): RA = 16:11:41.710 (242.923791) DEC = -24:03:58.63 (-24.0662862)
Discovery date: 2026-05-10 08:01:16.003 (JD=2461170.834213)


Remarks: Bright (m_peak <= 18.5) transient candidate identified autonomously by BTSbot (Rehemtulla et al. 2024; arXiv:2401.15167).

Photometry

Discovery (first detection):
Discovery date: 2026-05-10 08:01:16.003
Flux: 20.1009 ABMag
Filter: g-ZTF
Instrument: ZTF-Cam
Telescope: Palomar 1.2m Oschin

Last non-detection:
Last non-detection date: 2026-05-09 10:04:44
Limiting flux: 20.5559 ABMag
Filter: r-ZTF
Instrument: ZTF-Cam
Telescope: Palomar 1.2m Oschin


Details of the new object can be viewed here: https://sandbox.wis-tns.org/object/2026mbj