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Supernova SN 2011dh in Messier 51


John

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hi John

if you do have a go tonight and I can't, could you please try with the intes as well? this will give me an idea of what chances I have with my scope. hopefully increasing chance if the magnitude continues to decrease (you know what I mean :)).

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mag 13 is a bit difficult for a 6" scope, especially if the sky is not very dark. The C6 is listed as having a limiting magnitude of 12.7 (a bit odd as the C8 has a limiting magnitude of 14, according to the same site), so let's hope it brightens. I will keep my fingers crossed for you.

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It's going to take much more than 6" of aperture to see anything here tonight - heavy cloud and rain have moved in :icon_eek:

Time to watch the "Mars" documentary I recorded last night I think :)

I will try the SN with the 6" mak-newt when it's next clear though.

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It's going to take much more than 6" of aperture to see anything here tonight - heavy cloud and rain have moved in :icon_eek:

Time to watch the "Mars" documentary I recorded last night I think :)

I will try the SN with the 6" mak-newt when it's next clear though.

It's totally overcast here as well. I would have liked to see whether the supernova has grown any brighter, but that will have to wait.

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Clear sky tonight but rather milky. I had a look for SN2011dn in M51 with my 6" mak-newtonian but could not pick it up with either direct or averted vision. I could see the mag 13.4 star adjacent to M51 and, intermittently, another 13th mag star against the galactic disk however I could not detect the SN. I wonder if it has faded a bit ? - if it had been around mag 13 I'm fairly sure I would have spotted it however if it's faded below mag 13.5 then it mag just have been out of reach of the 6" scope given the seeing conditions tonight.

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I produced a star map with a FOV to match my 8mm Ethos on the 10" to correspond with the photo produced by Dave Smith. The sky was very clear and transparent last night especially after midnight so I went hunting.

I could detect all the stars from the chart and based on the photo could see the SN. In fact I thought that the SN was brighter than the 13.4 mag star nearby. It will be interesting to see if there is an official mag for the SN.

Mark

PS I just checked this website and it shows the SN at 12.9 - http://www.rochesterastronomy.org/supernova.html#2011dh

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Maybe it has dimmed after the initial peak, but maybe the increased moonlight is causing trouble. As I recall, supernovae are rather blue, which means they are more affected by the (blue) sky background. Milky conditions caused by haze also affect blue object more then white and red.

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I'll have to wheel the 10" out again when the clouds clear. I guess mag 13 objects is pushing it with a 6" from my back yard :)

Thanks for the further feedback folks :icon_eek:

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Michael

I was it last night as clear as anything, much brighter than the mag 13.6 star in the halo of M51.

There are two stars on the other side of the core which are both 12.6 according to Carte Du Ciel and the sn was pretty much as bright as those so definitely 13.0 or less in my view.

I was surprised how easy it was in the 10 inch given the half moon. I could see star 3UC 275-121870 just a little further out than the sn and it is 13.7.

My limiting mag on a dark clear night is about 14.3 so this was a good night and the sn was easily visible in the 6/8mm and even just in the 17mm.

As you say decay is likely to be slow but we have the full (eclipse) moon and the shortest night coming up!

It was well worth staying up for to bag..

Regards

Mark

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Mark I was outside from midnight onwards and I thought that the SN was about mag 13. I thought that Chris's (cgarry) photo from last night was interesting in comparing the different mags in the area. Here is the link.

http://stargazerslounge.com/imaging-deep-sky/145465-sn2011dh-m51.html#post1845779

The more that I view this photo makes me think that the SN is closer to the 12.6 that you suggested.

mark

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Mark I was outside from midnight onwards and I thought that the SN was about mag 13. I thought that Chris's (cgarry) photo from last night was interesting in comparing the different mags in the area. Here is the link.

http://stargazerslounge.com/imaging-deep-sky/145465-sn2011dh-m51.html#post1845779

The more that I view this photo makes me think that the SN is closer to the 12.6 that you suggested.

mark

So it looks like the decline has not yet set in. Fingers crossed for more clear nights then.

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All very interesting but tonight there is no chance of exploring further - it's been raining virtually all day here in North Somerset :)

From your reports it looks like a 10" is the instrument of choice with this one - I reckon I was asking too much of the mak-newtonian, especially under milky June skies :)

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All very interesting but tonight there is no chance of exploring further - it's been raining virtually all day here in North Somerset :)

From your reports it looks like a 10" is the instrument of choice with this one - I reckon I was asking too much of the mak-newtonian, especially under milky June skies :)

It's overcast here as well. I would love to have a 10", but my C8 will have to do. I cannot complain so far.

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It's overcast here as well. I would love to have a 10", but my C8 will have to do. I cannot complain so far.

Sorry Michael - I'd forgotten that you have observed this object with your 8" SCT :)

They are very nice scopes :)

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