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abstract
The Reference Catalogue and Atlas of Galactic Novae by Duerbeck summarizes the historical data and identifications for 201 Galactic novae ranging in outburst date from CK Vul (Nova Vul 1670) to Nova And 1986. Many of these objects are well-studied classical novae observed in outburst and decline. More recently, several objects in the {\it Atlas} have been identified as X-ray novae or X-ray transients, a subclass of low mass X-ray binaries consisting of a neutron star or a black hole and a secondary star. Some of these have emerged as our best black hole candidates. However, a large number of historical novae were poorly studied in outburst and an even larger number lack spectroscopic confirmation and classification in quiescence. We present the results of spectroscopic observations for 36 faint novae in the Duerbeck catalogue obtained with the 4.5-m Multiple Mirror Telescope and the Perkins 1.8-m telescope. These data have allowed us to classify these objects, determine the nature of their secondary stars, form a foundation on which to interpret their outbursts, and in the future, to confirm or deny that an outburst leaves the system unchanged. In addition, we present the results of time-resoloved CCD photometry obtained with the OSU Imaging Fabry Perot Spectrograph in direct mode at the Perkins telescope of selected faint novae to measure their photometric properties and orbital periods, and to photometrically identify nova candidates in those cases where the historical identifications are uncertain.
Observations presented here were obtained with the Multiple Mirror Telescope, a facilty operated jointly by the University of Arizona and the Smithsonian Institution and with the Perkins 1.8-m telescope, a joint facility of the Ohio Wesleyan University, Ohio State University, and the Lowell Observatory.
