Supernova SN 2011dh in Messier 51

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Cold front coming through later on Monday in the UK so Monday night is possible. Might have to wait for Tuesday night in the continent.

Its been as wet here today as on a F1 circuit in Canada!

Mark

Tuesday is looking good in the forecasts here. However, I do have to act (semi)intelligently the next day because of a PhD defense (I am one of the supervisors). Can't fall asleep, can I?

[sandspider]

Hi Guys,

The weather looks bad for the weekend here, but do you have any tips for a newbie looking for this? Am I being too ambitious?

Clear skies

Mark

[John]

It's not a good time of year with just about the minimum amount of darkness (assuming you are UK based) but if you can get a reasonably view of M51 then you are in with a chance with 8" of aperture I reckon. I believe the SN is around mag 12.9 now (it was nearer mag 13.6 or so) when I observed it with my 10" on 7/6. There are 2 foreground stars which could be mistaken for the SN. They are shown in this picture, along with the SN on two separate nights:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YHT54xsijHM/TfdOivdaSnI/AAAAAAAADdI/4O1uy1DJyHY/s1600/M51_Raw_comp_04-10-06-11.png

As a note, I could not see anywhere near the level of detail in the galaxy that the photos show.

[dodgeydodge]

anychance of any images of the SN?

the more i read the more i realise im out of my league!

[mdstuart]

You are not out of your league. With the 8 inch and a semi-rural site (I am 20 miles from Bristol) then after letting your eyes adjust and with the use of averted vision (looking to the side of M51) the little spot of light of the SN will appear relatively easily.

Draw what you see, mark the stars and then check back.

Mark

[sandspider]

Ok, thanks for the advise. I'm gonna wait for a clear night and give it a go. Watch this space! (while I watch the big space )

Mark