The evolution of Nova V382 Velorum 1999

We report results of spectroscopic observations of V382 Vel (Nova Vel 1999) carried out at La Silla between 5 and 498 days after maximum light (23 May 1999, V(max) similar to 2.3 +/- 0.1). The analysis of the photometric and spectroscopic evolution shows this object to be a fast nova belonging to the Fe II broad spectroscopic class. A distance of 1.7 kpc (+/-20%) is derived from the maximum magnitude vs. rate of decline relationship after correcting for the small reddening toward the nova, E(B-V) less than or similar to 0.10. From the measured Halpha flux and the associated rate of expansion we derive an approximate mass for the ejected shell, M-env less than or similar to 10(-5) M.. We have also observed during the early decline a broad, short-lived (less than or similar to2 weeks) feature at 6705-6715 Angstrom for which several identifications are possible, one of which is the lithium doublet at 6708 Angstrom and which could place an empirical limit on the lithium production that might occur during the outburst of a fast nova. The high luminosity at maximum, M-v = -8.9, and the relatively small height above the galactic plane (z less than or similar to 160 pc) suggest that V382 Vel originated from a massive white dwarf, likely in the mass range 1.1-1.2 M..