G247.8- A NEWLY DISCOVERED OPTICAL SUPERNOVA REMNANT IN PUPPIS(4.9 )

As a first step to investigate a newly detected possible supernova rem nant in Puppis, a few optical spectra have been obtained. The spectra of this extremely faint nebula, although of poor quality, show strong [N II] 6583/6545 Angstrom emission. Radial velocities derived from the [N II] 6583 Angstrom line amount to 50 km s(-1), for both the eastern most and westernmost optical borders of the nebula, and a distinctly b lueshifted velocity relative to this value for an emission region clos e to the eastern rim. In order to check whether the remnant might be a kin to the nebula W50 associated with the compact source SS 433, a spe ctrum of four stars near the center of the image of the nebula was tak en; it showed them to be of quite ordinary type and exhibits some trac es of(nebular) [N II] 6583 W emission. No IRAS source is located at or within the boundaries of the nebula. which coincides with an extended radio source of about 78 mJy at 4850 MHz. The star that gave rise to the remnant may have been a remote member of the Pup OB2 association, at a distance of about 5 kpc.