S. R. Kulkarni and colleagues report the discovery of a mysterious optical transient called M85 OT2006-1 in the outskirts of the lenticular galaxy Messier 85 in the Virgo Cluster. Brighter than novae and fainter than supernovae, it is unlikely to be a giant eruption from a luminous blue variable star because no such star is known to be there, but a possible origin is a stellar merger.
- S. R. Kulkarni
- E. O. Ofek
- D. B. Sanders
