New supernova! Closest in a decade

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Our friend Eliot Herman used the Utah Remote Desert Observatories to capture this image of the new supernova in M101 – the Pinwheel Galaxy – just hours after its discovery on May 19, 2023. See the bright spot by the yellow arrowhead? This is the closest supernova to us in more than a decade. Eliot commented: “There will be many weeks to watch this one evolve.” Thank you, Eliot!

A new, close supernova

A new supernova in the Pinwheel Galaxy, aka M101, is the closest to Earth in a decade. Amateur astronomer Koichi Itagaki discovered it on May 19, 2023. The supernova should continue to brighten for a few days. It should remain visible to amateur astronomers with backyard telescopes for a few months. The supernova – named 2023ixf – lies in the direction of the constellation Ursa Major, near the end of the handle of the Big Dipper.

The last supernova in M101 was in 2011. Andy Howell, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Barbara, explained on Twitter that the 2011 explosion resulted from a white dwarf that underwent a thermonuclear supernova. Andy said that the new supernova is most likely from a different cause, from a core collapse of a massive star at the end of its life. While observers won’t be able to see this supernova with the unaided eye, amateurs should be able to catch it backyard telescopes. As Andy said:

… this new supernova will increase in brightness over the coming days. You should be able to see it with backyard telescopes, for a few months, though it will just be a point of light.

Star chart for Ursa Major. M101 is in red on the left near the Big Dipper’s handle. Image via Wikimedia Commons/ IAU/ Sky and Telescope.

How close is the closest in a decade?

M101 is 21 million light-years away. So even though it just appeared to us on Earth Friday, it occurred 21 million years ago. And even though it’s the closest in a decade, it’s still quite far away. In fact, for a supernova to have an effect on Earth, it would have to be within 50 light-years of our planet. You can rest assured that the new supernova won’t harm Earth. Instead, we get to watch a relatively rare event as scientists gather information on the new supernova.

Supernova before-and-after image

Look in the upper arm of this galaxy- you'll see a star appear to blink in and out of existence. That's a supernova! Very recently discovered in m101: the Pinwheel galaxy (which I happened to be shooting when this happened) pic.twitter.com/8hvplfXNtd

— Andrew McCarthy (@AJamesMcCarthy) May 20, 2023

Breaking news, today a new Type 2 Supernova appeared in the Pinwheel galaxy (M101) around lunchtime today and I got images tonight. This is a VERY rare event! Despite heavy forest fire smoke, light pollution and aurora, it still shines through strongly. Seems to have… pic.twitter.com/Jpmp2ZPjva

— ChasinSpin (@ChasinSpin) May 20, 2023

Supernova photo gallery

View larger. | Eliot Herman of Tucson, Arizona, using the Utah Remote Observatory, made this collage illustrating the evolution of Supernova 2023ixf on May 21, 2023. As Eliot reflected upon this event, he told us in an e-mail: “I hope the denizens of nearby M101 planets ducked 21 million years ago … they might have gone the way of the dinosaurs. We will never know, but it is sobering to think every time we see fireworks, there might be mass extinctions in its wake, all a roll of the cosmic dice.” Thank you, Eliot!

For the supernova images, each photographer chooses their own orientation. Therefore, you can see the supernova in various locations, such as in the 2, 11, 5, or 8 o’clock positions, for example. That’s because there is no standard way to capture a galaxy (there’s no “up” in space).

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Eliot Herman using the Utah Desert Observatory captured this image of the new supernova on May 20, 2023. Eliot wrote: “Supernova 2023ixf is rising fast in brightness. This image was captured not long after at 2 a.m. (local Utah time) on May 20 … This is likely one of the best transient events of 2023.” Thank you, Eliot!

View larger. | Eliot Herman shared this 1-day comparison of the supernova in M101 with EarthSky. The image on the left is from May 20 and the image on the right is from May 21. Note how much the supernova has risen in brightness. Eliot wrote: “As you can see it is much brighter after 2 days.” Thank you, Eliot!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Orlando Montes in Charles City, Iowa, captured this telescopic image of galaxy Messier 101 on May 19, 2023, showing the then newly discovered supernova 2023ixf. Orlando wrote: “Coincidentally, I was capturing M101 the very same night that the supernova was discovered!” Thank you, Orlando!

Pre-discovery images

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Dorothy Willilams in Fremont, California, captured this telescopic image of galaxy Messier 101 on May 12, 2023, one week before the discovery of Supernova 2023ixf. Dorothy wrote: “This image was taken on May 12 around 11:00 pm. There is a faint smudge where the supernova was found on May 19. The smudge may or may not show the pre-supernova before it became bright enough to be found.” Thank you, Dorothy!

Did you capture an image of the supernova you’d like to share with us? You can submit it to EarthSky Community Photos.

Bottom line: An amateur astronomer discovered a new supernova in M101 – the Pinwheel Galaxy – on May 19, 2023. The supernova will continue to brighten for a couple days and be visible to amateurs in backyard telescopes for a few months.

The post New supernova! Closest in a decade first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/Qs5xGar

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Our friend Eliot Herman used the Utah Remote Desert Observatories to capture this image of the new supernova in M101 – the Pinwheel Galaxy – just hours after its discovery on May 19, 2023. See the bright spot by the yellow arrowhead? This is the closest supernova to us in more than a decade. Eliot commented: “There will be many weeks to watch this one evolve.” Thank you, Eliot!

A new, close supernova

A new supernova in the Pinwheel Galaxy, aka M101, is the closest to Earth in a decade. Amateur astronomer Koichi Itagaki discovered it on May 19, 2023. The supernova should continue to brighten for a few days. It should remain visible to amateur astronomers with backyard telescopes for a few months. The supernova – named 2023ixf – lies in the direction of the constellation Ursa Major, near the end of the handle of the Big Dipper.

The last supernova in M101 was in 2011. Andy Howell, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Barbara, explained on Twitter that the 2011 explosion resulted from a white dwarf that underwent a thermonuclear supernova. Andy said that the new supernova is most likely from a different cause, from a core collapse of a massive star at the end of its life. While observers won’t be able to see this supernova with the unaided eye, amateurs should be able to catch it backyard telescopes. As Andy said:

… this new supernova will increase in brightness over the coming days. You should be able to see it with backyard telescopes, for a few months, though it will just be a point of light.

Star chart for Ursa Major. M101 is in red on the left near the Big Dipper’s handle. Image via Wikimedia Commons/ IAU/ Sky and Telescope.

How close is the closest in a decade?

M101 is 21 million light-years away. So even though it just appeared to us on Earth Friday, it occurred 21 million years ago. And even though it’s the closest in a decade, it’s still quite far away. In fact, for a supernova to have an effect on Earth, it would have to be within 50 light-years of our planet. You can rest assured that the new supernova won’t harm Earth. Instead, we get to watch a relatively rare event as scientists gather information on the new supernova.

Supernova before-and-after image

Look in the upper arm of this galaxy- you'll see a star appear to blink in and out of existence. That's a supernova! Very recently discovered in m101: the Pinwheel galaxy (which I happened to be shooting when this happened) pic.twitter.com/8hvplfXNtd

— Andrew McCarthy (@AJamesMcCarthy) May 20, 2023

Breaking news, today a new Type 2 Supernova appeared in the Pinwheel galaxy (M101) around lunchtime today and I got images tonight. This is a VERY rare event! Despite heavy forest fire smoke, light pollution and aurora, it still shines through strongly. Seems to have… pic.twitter.com/Jpmp2ZPjva

— ChasinSpin (@ChasinSpin) May 20, 2023

Supernova photo gallery

View larger. | Eliot Herman of Tucson, Arizona, using the Utah Remote Observatory, made this collage illustrating the evolution of Supernova 2023ixf on May 21, 2023. As Eliot reflected upon this event, he told us in an e-mail: “I hope the denizens of nearby M101 planets ducked 21 million years ago … they might have gone the way of the dinosaurs. We will never know, but it is sobering to think every time we see fireworks, there might be mass extinctions in its wake, all a roll of the cosmic dice.” Thank you, Eliot!

For the supernova images, each photographer chooses their own orientation. Therefore, you can see the supernova in various locations, such as in the 2, 11, 5, or 8 o’clock positions, for example. That’s because there is no standard way to capture a galaxy (there’s no “up” in space).

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Eliot Herman using the Utah Desert Observatory captured this image of the new supernova on May 20, 2023. Eliot wrote: “Supernova 2023ixf is rising fast in brightness. This image was captured not long after at 2 a.m. (local Utah time) on May 20 … This is likely one of the best transient events of 2023.” Thank you, Eliot!

View larger. | Eliot Herman shared this 1-day comparison of the supernova in M101 with EarthSky. The image on the left is from May 20 and the image on the right is from May 21. Note how much the supernova has risen in brightness. Eliot wrote: “As you can see it is much brighter after 2 days.” Thank you, Eliot!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Orlando Montes in Charles City, Iowa, captured this telescopic image of galaxy Messier 101 on May 19, 2023, showing the then newly discovered supernova 2023ixf. Orlando wrote: “Coincidentally, I was capturing M101 the very same night that the supernova was discovered!” Thank you, Orlando!

Pre-discovery images

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Dorothy Willilams in Fremont, California, captured this telescopic image of galaxy Messier 101 on May 12, 2023, one week before the discovery of Supernova 2023ixf. Dorothy wrote: “This image was taken on May 12 around 11:00 pm. There is a faint smudge where the supernova was found on May 19. The smudge may or may not show the pre-supernova before it became bright enough to be found.” Thank you, Dorothy!

Did you capture an image of the supernova you’d like to share with us? You can submit it to EarthSky Community Photos.

Bottom line: An amateur astronomer discovered a new supernova in M101 – the Pinwheel Galaxy – on May 19, 2023. The supernova will continue to brighten for a couple days and be visible to amateurs in backyard telescopes for a few months.

The post New supernova! Closest in a decade first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/Qs5xGar