TNS Astronomical Transient Report No. 303856 [ 2026TNSTR2118....1R ]

Date Received (UTC): 2026-05-15 11:35:04
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 2026mrk
Discoverer internal name: ZTF26aavlqbu
Coordinates (J2000): RA = 17:23:31.807 (260.88253) DEC = -22:46:29.24 (-22.7747882)
Discovery date: 2026-04-20 10:03:43.001 (JD=2461150.9192477)


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: 2026-04-20 10:03:43.001
Flux: 20.4693 ABMag
Filter: r-ZTF
Instrument: ZTF-Cam
Telescope: Palomar 1.2m Oschin

Last non-detection:
Last non-detection date: 2026-04-18 10:31:15
Limiting flux: 19.7149 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/2026mrk