SN2012AW fainter tonight ?

[John]

Anyone been looking at the supernova in M95 tonight ?.

It looks a little fainter to me tonight than it did when I last observed it a couple of nights ago.

How is it for others ?

[mike.brightmore]

I was trying but the sky not that transparent here tonight. Tried to get an image but turned out prety rubbish.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

That was my impression too. I could make out the mag 12.95 star, but the SN was playing hard to get. I think I saw it flickering in and out of averted vision once or twice, but it was giving me a very hard time.

[John]

Those were exactly the results I was getting Michael. If it stays clear I'll have another go tonight and see if it was the conditions or there has been a slight dimming.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

It's listed at 13.4 here:

Latest Supernovae

so our observations were correct.

[Moonshane]

I looked again last night too and it was certainly a little fainter. That said, the misty skies were back a little more too and I put it down to that. Still easily seen with the 16" with direct and AV.

[John]

... Still easily seen with the 16" with direct and AV.

I was making life challenging by using my ED120 refractor

Quite chuffed I've managed to see a mag 13 object at all with that

[DarkerSky]

Just on it at the mo with my 12". Agree it has definitely faded. Mag 13.4-13.5 I would say. That's quite a quick drop off of about half a mag in just 2-3 days. Impressive.

[Moonshane]

I was making life challenging by using my ED120 refractor

Quite chuffed I've managed to see a mag 13 object at all with that

ha ha sorry John

I didn't mean to state the obvious

and I agree, it's a real test of eyes and skill to see it with such an aperture as your 120.

[Damo636]

ha ha sorry John

I didn't mean to state the obvious

and I agree, it's a real test of eyes and skill to see it with such an aperture as your 120.

Its also testament to the quality of the optics on the ED120. These things do regularly seem to punch way above their weight.

[cygnus618]

I observed the supernova tonight, March 28th, and I could easily see the supernova with my C8. I estimate the magnitude at 12.5. I used the star GSC 00849-0049 as my reference star. It is listed at magnitude 12.75.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I observed the supernova tonight, March 28th, and I could easily see the supernova with my C8. I estimate the magnitude at 12.5. I used the star GSC 00849-0049 as my reference star. It is listed at magnitude 12.75.

Interesting, I tried last Wednesday and could not really make it out with my C8. It was fainter than a nearby mag 12.95 star which I could see. Could it be fluctuating? Another matter is the B-V colour index: bluish stars suffer more from extinction than red ones. That can affect magnitude estimates if you are comparing objects with very different B-V values through a hazy atmosphere.

[cygnus618]

Interesting, I tried last Wednesday and could not really make it out with my C8. It was fainter than a nearby mag 12.95 star which I could see. Could it be fluctuating? Another matter is the B-V colour index: bluish stars suffer more from extinction than red ones. That can affect magnitude estimates if you are comparing objects with very different B-V values through a hazy atmosphere.

The star I used as a reference, GSC 00849-0049 is listed in Sky Safari Pro (for iPad) as mag 12.75 and in Sky Tools as mag 12.42. I split the difference and estimated the supernova as 12.5 since this star seemed to be the exact same magnitude as the supernova. I also made sure I was looking at the right object by using these finder charts as reference... Chumack images the M95 supernova! - Dave's Universe - Astronomy.com - Online Community, Forums, Media Galleries, Blogs

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I have no doubts about your observation, maybe the SN is relatively blue, so the moisture caused more extinction of its light than of the neighbouring stars when I observed.

[Moonshane]

I would agree that visually in my scope at least, there was a hint of blue to the SN when I first saw it.

[cygnus618]

I will try again tonight to observe the SN and I will pay close attention to any color I may see. I can't say I really paid much attention to any color last night, but if I had seen any I would have noted it. Tonight's weather promises to be a bit clearer and I will give the SN another chance and make note of the color.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

At mag 12.5 I doubt you see colour. It might pay to check the B-V colour of the reference stars and the SN. If they are similar comparison is easy, otherwise it gets complicated.

[John]

Its also testament to the quality of the optics on the ED120. These things do regularly seem to punch way above their weight.

Indeed it is. To be honest I'm totally knocked out by the ED120. I've owned many scopes over the years but I can honestly say that the ED120 is my favourite

My poor little Vixen ED102 is hardly getting out these days though