Circular No. 7392 Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION Mailstop 18, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A. IAUSUBS@CFA.HARVARD.EDU or FAX 617-495-7231 (subscriptions) BMARSDEN@CFA.HARVARD.EDU or DGREEN@CFA.HARVARD.EDU (science) URL http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/cbat.html ISSN 0081-0304 Phone 617-495-7244/7440/7444 (for emergency use only) XTE J1118+480 M. Garcia, W. Brown, M. Pahre, and J. McClintock, Harvard- Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics; P. Callanan, University College, Cork; and P. Garnavich, University of Notre Dame, report: "Optical spectroscopy of XTE J1118+480 on Mar. 31 UT reveals a spectrum typical of an x-ray nova in outburst (e.g., Shrader et al. 1994, Ap.J. 434, 698). A series of spectra obtained with the F.L. Whipple Observatory (FLWO) 1.5-m telescope (+ FAST spectrograph) show the following emissions, equivalent widths, and FWHM (accurate to 10 percent): H-alpha, 0.19 nm, 2200 km/s; H-beta, 0.01, --; He II 468.6-nm, 0.12, 2690. The H-alpha FWHM that we find in this x-ray nova is approximately equal to the largest seen in quiescent blackhole x-ray novae. The H-alpha line shows two blueward absorption features, and the H-beta line shows redward and blueward absorption features. The Na D 589.0-nm line has an equivalent width of 0.004 nm, indicating very low interstellar absorption. The column density out of the plane in this direction (Dickey and Lockman 1990, Ann. Rev. Astron. Ap. 28, 215) corresponds to E(B-V) about 0.024. Differential V-band photometry from the FLWO 1.2-m telescope, relative to the USNO-A2.0 star at R.A. = 11h18m40s.65, Decl. = +48o03'25".8 (equinox 2000.0; V = 10.91) yields magnitudes of 12.80(0.1) and 13.05(0.1) on Mar. 31.151 and 31.396, respectively. The surprisingly low x-ray-to-optical flux ratio (i.e., V about 13, F_x about 40 mCrab; cf. IAUC 7389) may be due to a nearly edge-on viewing angle."