PQ And

PQ And was discovered by BAAVSS stalwart Dave McAdam on Nova Patrol photographs taken on 1988 March 21.900UT, and measured at 10.0pv.

Discovery photographs taken by Dave McAdam were printed on the cover of 'The Astronomer' magazine, 1988 May, Vol 25 No. 289 and can be seen here (Courtesy of Guy Hurst)

Confirmation was obtained by Martin Mobberley on March 25.844 UT at 10.8pv, and at the same time visually by Guy Hurst at 10.6 with his 44cm reflector. Martin's confirmation photograph can be seen here.

By April 13 the brightness had faded to magnitude 13.0 visual after which PQ And was only seen at a deep minimum of magnitude 18-20C - until 2020.

On 2020 May 28.776 UT, Japanese observer Kenji Hirosawa (Aichi, Japan) recorded PQ And in outburst at 10.48cG using a 20cm telescope and a Canon X9 camera. Thirty two years and two months after the initial discovery.

At the time of discovery PQ And was thought to have been a Nova, but plate searches by G. Richter revealed previous outbursts in 1938 and 1967. PQ And was re-classified as type UGWZ.

Discovery details from Dave McAdam were published in 'The Astronomer' magazine, 1988 April, Vol 24 No. 288 and can be seen here (Courtesy of Guy Hurst)

A Nick James interview with Dave McAdam regarding the discovery of PQ And was filmed at the 1989 'The Astronomer' AGM, and can be seen on Martin Mobberly's YouTube channel.