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SN2011dh in M51

russ

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russ

russ

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Sorry no image to display. Just some text. ;)

We had a clear night last night, not a bad one at all. So decided to have a galaxy hunt around Ursa Major. Not something i usually do from home due to the light pollution. But it wasn't half bad.

On my travels i naturally found myself looking at M51, one of the highlights of a Ursa Major galaxy trawl. Last time i looked from the backgarden a few weeks ago i couldn't spot the Supernova. Just beyond the limits of my relatively poor skies. But last night i had no problems at all. In fact it was easier to spot last night from home than it was from the dark site 4 weeks ago. Has the SN brightened significantly in the last month?

I know the skies were pretty good last night. No problems seeing the Milkyway snaking across the sky. And M51 itself was showing hints of the arms.

Also amazed how nice M94 and NGC4490 looked last night. A really nice session.

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ashworthacca

ashworthacca

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Nice image Greg:evil6:

I might give observing this a go tonight if the forecast is correct....saying that, would it be possible with my Orion 80ED? What eyepiece would be best to use.:hello2: Sorry for the basic questions but I do very little observing but quite a lot of imaging.

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RikM

RikM

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Nice image Greg:evil6:

I might give observing this a go tonight if the forecast is correct....saying that, would it be possible with my Orion 80ED? What eyepiece would be best to use.:hello2: Sorry for the basic questions but I do very little observing but quite a lot of imaging.

I like to use my 8.8mm UWA with my 10" for M51. That's 135x but it is good from about 75x so for you I would guess a 6 - 8mm EP?

Start out with a low power, crank up the mag until it looks mushy then go back one.

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ashworthacca

ashworthacca

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I like to use my 8.8mm UWA with my 10" for M51. That's 135x but it is good from about 75x so for you I would guess a 6 - 8mm EP?

Start out with a low power, crank up the mag until it looks mushy then go back one.

Thanks Rik. I'm somewhat limited on eyepieces but I do have a nice 6mm ED eyepiece and a 8-24mm zoom that is equivalent in quality to the Baader Hyperion one. I'll start with the zoom and see how that fairs.

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John

John

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From my back yard I'd be pushed to see M51 at all with an 80mm let alone the SN, given the lack of real darkness. If you have dark skies though, give it a go. I'm going to be using a 6" mak-newtonian tonight I think.

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RikM

RikM

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Wohoo...I saw it. Just! Skyliner 250PX + 8.8mm UWA

M51 was very faint with the sky being so light. I didn't see the SN at first but had to wait for my eyes to fully adapt and keep milking the eyepiece for more detail. Gradually I could discern the SN and a few fainter stars as well. I have a sketch but can't scan it in until tomorrow at work. Will post it in the sketching forum in the morning.

Great thread Russ. Thanks. My first supernova. Stoked...right...back outside :hello2:

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John

John

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Great stuff Rick :D

I'm just managing to pick the SN up with my 6" mak-newt but averted vision is needed most of the time - it's "coming and going" as they say !. If I'd not seen this one before I'd be really struggling. To me the current mag looks more like 12.5 rather than close to 12. I'm basing that on nearby field stars which I've got the magnitude of although I'm not 100% sure of the accuracy. Every now and then the seeing improves for a second or so and a couple of fainter stars against the galaxy pop into view briefly.

If this SN had been an Autumn event it would have made life easier :hello2:

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Hypernova

Hypernova

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Outside observing at the moment attempting to see it in the 8", no luck so far as the sky seems to be still quite light. I have managed to tease out the star that lies close to the SN and outside of the galaxy but the SN remains elusive. I will give it more time to see if the sky darkens some more and my eyes full adapt to the dark. I am finding this one a lot more challenging than 2011b even though it had a lower apparent magnitude, these short, light nights are a real killer.

I am using a 9mm SW ultrawide as it seems to show the galaxy better and darkens the background sky noticeably more than the 14mm, I think I could be doing with a higher quality eyepiece in this FL for observing :hello2:

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Hypernova

Hypernova

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I had another look last night after I posted my previous message, this time I allowed a little more time for my eyes to become properly adapted to the dark.

I again saw what I thought was the star that lay outside of the galaxy. I have found out though that it shines at mag 13.5, a whole 1 mag below the brightness of the SN and out of reach of my 8" dob in these summer skies. I initially discounted this as the positioning looked wrong but looking at a recent image of the galaxy on here it looks as if it was in the right place to be the SN, I thought it was more along the axis of the two galaxies and not at a near 45 degree angle to it.

The brightness of 12-12.5 matches in as well as it was really on the limits of my 'scope on the summer nights. I could only see it fleetingly with AV and I couldn't hold it for long but I'll count that as a 2nd SN for my record :hello2:

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John

John

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I saw it on the 29th, and i would say it was slightly brighter than the mag 13.5 star outside the galaxy, in reach of my 200p, at any rate :)

Yes, I observed it again last night and I'd agree with your assessment.

M51 is getting far more attention from me lately, since it's been host to the supernova. I'm feeling I'm getting to know it's structure quite well now :(

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toml42

toml42

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I really wasn't expecting to see any structure in m51, but as i sat there trying to tease out the supernova, two sweeping curves started to just catch in the corner of my eye, but ever so faint. I thought i was imagining it at first, but it became more and more obvious over time. I made a mental note of it and checked photos later, and it did seem about right proportionally.

just goes to show that a little patience at the eyepiece will always reveal more than you expected!

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