  We obtained late-time optical and near-IR imaging of SN 2008S with the Large
Binocular Telescope (LBT). We find that (1) it is again invisible at optical
(UBVR) wavelengths to magnitude limits of approximately 25 mag, and (2) while
detected in the near-IR (HK) at approximately 20 mag, it is fading rapidly. The
near-IR detections in March and May 2010 are consistent with dust emission at a
blackbody temperature of T ~ 900 K and a total luminosity of L ~ 40000 Lsun,
comparable to the luminosity of the obscured progenitor star. If it is a
supernova, the near-IR emission is likely due to shock heated dust since the
elapsed time from peak is too long to support a near-IR dust echo and the
decline in luminosity is shallower than the 56Co slope. If it is reprocessed
emission from a surviving progenitor, a dust photosphere must have
reestablished itself closer to the star than before the transient (~40 AU
rather than 150 AU), unless there is a second, cooler dust component that
dominates at mid-IR wavelengths. The continued rapid fading at roughly constant
temperature favors transient emission, but the SED peaks in the mid-IR and
future Spitzer observations will be needed to close the case.
