2008MNRAS.391L..84G

We report the discovery of the first known symbiotic star in IC10, a starburst galaxy belonging to the Local Group, at a distance of ∼750 kpc. The symbiotic star was identified during a survey of emission-line objects. It shines at V = 24.62±0.04,V - R_C= 2.77±0.05 and R_C- I_C= 2.39±0.02, and suffers from E_B- V_= 0.85±0.05 reddening. The spectrum of the cool component well matches that of solar neighbourhood M8III giants. The observed emission lines belong to Balmer series, [Sii], [Nii] and [Oiii]. They suggest a low electronic density, negligible optical depth effects and 35000 < T_eff< 90000 K for the ionizing source. The spectrum of the new symbiotic star in IC10 is an almost perfect copy of that of Hen 2-147, a well-known Galactic symbiotic star and Mira.