An International Astronomical Union Circular sent on 23 February 1996 announced the discovery of a "possible 'slow' nova" of magnitude 11.4 by Yukio Sakurai, an amateur astronomer. Japanese astronomer Syuichi Nakano reported the discovery, drawing attention to the fact that the object had not been visible in images from 1993 nor in Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics records for the years 1930–1951, despite it appearing to slowly brighten over the previous years. Nakano wrote that "While the outburst a slow or symbiotic nova, the lack of obvious emission lines one year after brightening is very unusual."