Supernova M101

[Stephen]

Special Notice #250: Possible Type-Ia Supernova in M101 | AAVSO

[John]

That could get interesting

Thanks for the heads up !.

[garethmob]

ooooo this sounds nteresting, have any one viewed this yet?

(edit) john beat me!

[John]

ooooo this sounds nteresting, have any one viewed this yet?

(edit) john beat me!

Not me - seems to be mag 17 or so at the moment. It could brighten up considerably though

[RikM]

Thanks for the heads up.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Thanks indeed, this could be very nice (hopefully my 3rd SN this year)

[Dave]

If we finally get some clear skies, we might be able to view this as it brightens. Thanks for the alert.

[Hypernova]

Thanks for the alert as well, I will be keeping an eye on this for sure

[foundaplanet]

Thanks for posting.

[JohnnyD333]

Awesome, except it started to rain as soon as I read this:(

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Awesome, except it started to rain as soon as I read this:(

Typical, innit?

[foundaplanet]

http://www.rochesterastronomy.org/sn2011/n5457s1.jpg

[rjsc2001]

If it brightens more let us know

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

If it brightens more let us know

You can follow it (and more supernovae) here:

Latest Supernovae

[iamjulian]

Will be keeping an eye on the light curve. I haven't seen one of these with my own eyes yet. Thanks for the heads up.

[mdstuart]

Should get to mag 10.5 based on 27 milion light years if it is a type 1a.

Mark

[Hypernova]

It is already of magnitude 13.1 so it should be nearly in range of my 8" dob within a couple of days!

[RogerTheDodger]

It's now been named 2011fe.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

It is already of magnitude 13.1 so it should be nearly in range of my 8" dob within a couple of days!

13.1 is doable with my C8 (I got 13th magnitude galaxies in the past. The dob with its smaller central obstruction should be better if anything.

Having said that, the persistent cloud cover is not helping, is it now.

[MorningMajor]

I've never seen one - when it brightens how would it look? - would it differ from surrounding stars?

[JohnnyD333]

If its anything like the supernova from M51 earlier this year, it looks like a star has been added to the spiral structure. The pictures I have seen so far confirm this, although Im not sure if it will brighten over the next few weeks.

Personally, what always interests me are stars going supernova that are relatively close to us. When M1, the Crab Nebula, went supernova 1000 years ago, it was very bright to the naked eye. I think one of the stars in Orion's Belt is unstable as well, but it could explode tomorrow or a million years from now.

[Hypernova]

It is now at 12.3 according to Rochester site so now well within range of my dob, it is just a shame that the clouds have returned

[Dave]

..., it is just a shame that the clouds have returned

I haven't had a peep at a clear enough sky all bank holiday weekend.

[mdstuart]

Yep it is brighter than mag 13 last night. Easy in a 10 inch when you know where to look...Its now the brightest star near to the M101 core...

Mark

[BSIA Ralph]

I suspect it's not far off mag 11 now. I imaged it last night with my 90mm refractor and 2011fe was far brighter than any of the other stars between us and the galaxy.

It really is quite striking at the moment - more so than the supernova in M51 was in June.