GCN Circular 44438

Chenxi Bao (PKU), Zhuokai Liu (PKU), Yacheng Kang (PKU) report on behalf of the Interestar Collaboration and the PKU HiTF (High-energy Transients Follow-up) group:

We observed the field of SN 2026kid (ZTF26aatswhm), discovered and first reported by Yasuo Sano (TNS Discovery Report 300955; T0 = 2026-04-22T14:23:47.00). Observations began on 2026 Apr 24, approximately 2.2 days after the first detection of the SN, using a 13cm optical telescope located in Yanchi, China. We subsequently employed a 28cm optical telescope located in Castillejar, Spain, to continue monitoring SN 2026kid. In total, our observations spanned 3 nights in the Luminance filter and 2 nights in the Red filter.

In the Luminance- and Red-band exposures, we clearly detect the Type II SN 2026kid in the nearby edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 5907, located at a distance of 16.5 Mpc (Rehemtulla et al.,TNS AstroNote 2026-114). Our observations show that SN 2026kid has brightened since discovery, reaching approximately 16.1 mag in the Luminance band and 15.5 mag in the Red band, indicating continued early-time photometric evolution. Preliminary photometry was derived from image subtraction using pre-explosion reference images, calibrated against nearby field stars, and is reported as approximate AB-equivalent magnitudes, without correction for Galactic extinction.

The observation log is summarized below:

Further analysis and follow-up observations are ongoing.

The two small-aperture telescopes are operated by the Interestar Collaboration. The PKU HiTF group is dedicated to rapid follow-up observations of high-energy transients.