Nova Taurii 2026, 13-16 August 2026

I began observing Nova Tauri 2026 in the early morning in mid-August 2026, capturing spectra, aiming to see how they evolve over the next few months.

The following image shows the star field containing the nova, near M1. (The image is 6° x 4° and the box is a 1° square.)

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Star field near M1.

And the following shows spectra taken with an objective prism. Hydrogen lines are prominent with oxygen lines in the IR and some iron lines starting to appear between Hα and Hβ.

20260816_Nova_Tau_2026_spectrum_MJH.jpg

Spectra captured with an objective prism.

Details of the objective prism can be found on the BAA website.

Mike Harlow.