2008CBET.1465....1S

T. N. Steele, M. Ganeshalingam, R. Chornock, and A. V. Filippenko, University of California, Berkeley, report that inspection of CCD spectra (range 330-1080 nm), obtained on Aug. 8 UT with the 3-m Shane reflector (+ Kast) at Lick Observatory, shows that 2008eq (CBET 1460) is a type-Ia supernova near maximum brightness. Cross-correlation with a library of supernova spectra using the "SuperNova IDentification" code (SNID; Blondin and Tonry 2007, Ap.J. 666, 1024) indicates that it is most similar to the normal type-Ia supernova 2003du at three days before maximum light. After removal of the host-galaxy recession velocity of 17039 km/s (Adelman-McCarthy et al. 2008, Ap.J. Suppl. 175, 297), the absorption minimum of the Si II 635.5-nm line is found to be blueshifted by 11500 km/s.