  The type Ia SN 1998bu was discovered in the galaxy M96 on 9 May 1998. It is
one of the closest type Ia events of modern times and good temporal coverage
has been achieved. Moreover its distance is well-determined. We describe here
some of the first-season photometric and spectroscopic observations. While SN
1998bu is unusually highly reddened, we can still deduce that it was a typical
type Ia event. Preliminary analysis suggests that for an Ho of about 60 km/(s
Mpc), its (de-reddened) peak luminosity, light curve shape and spectroscopic
behaviour confirms the relationships found between these parameters in other
classic type Ia supernovae.
