Electronic Telegram No. 881 Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION M.S. 18, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A. IAUSUBS@CFA.HARVARD.EDU or FAX 617-495-7231 (subscriptions) CBAT@CFA.HARVARD.EDU (science) URL http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/cbat.html SUPERNOVA 2007ak IN UGC 3293 J. M. Silverman, T. N. Steele, and A. V. Filippenko, University of California, Berkeley, report that inspection of CCD spectra (range 340-1050 nm), obtained on Mar. 13 UT with the Lick 3-m telescope (+ Kast), shows that 2007ak (cf. CBET 875) is a type-IIn supernova. The spectrum exhibits strong, very narrow (FWHM about 400 km/s) H-alpha emission on a relatively featureless continuum, and the other members of the hydrogen Balmer series are weak or absent (though the spectrum is noisy there). SN 2007ak thus resembles the type-IIn supernova 2002kg (cf. IAUC 8051) and its brethren. Arguments have previously been made that type-IIn events may, at least in some cases, be superoutbursts of luminous variable stars (e.g., Filippenko et al. 1995, A.J. 110, 2261; Van Dyk et al. 2000, PASP 112, 1532). NOTE: These 'Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams' are sometimes superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars. (C) Copyright 2007 CBAT 2007 March 13 (CBET 881) Daniel W. E. Green