Supernova in M82

[robbieboy]

Managed a quick 60mins after the rain had cleared. This is the first supernova i have ever seen and i must say i was quite surprised by how easy it was to see using higher magnification. Wonderful to look at it thinking its not really happening now but some 11-12 million years ago. Mind blowing.

[Fozzie]

Yeesssssss! Something quite mesmerizing about this.... Great viewing tonight, spent ages just tracking it with the 8mm tv.. Lovely stuff.

[andrew63]

It's cloudy for me tonight. Yesterday evening 7ish  i thought it might have been a touch below mag 11  - wonder if it's brighter ?  This is a good reference to set the field to suite for the Supernova.  It was very handy when viewing Nova Delphini last year.  

It's good to read that so many of us have observed this, given the conditions of the last few weeks we are fortunate !

Variable Star Plotter (VSP) | AAVSO

andrew

[NGC 1502]

It's been clear in SE Essex until it clouded up at 22.30, so came in.

The SN in M82 easy to see in my 10" Dob, started at 44x to see M81 & 82 in same field, best views of M82 & SN were at 86x & 150x.

I feel sure a smaller scope will reveal it.

The SN is about 1/4 of the way along the elongated smudge of M82, from the NW tip. 

If it brightens further, it will be spectacular.

Regards, Ed.

[Dave 2112]

After some searching, and some brief thoughts of "where is the bleeping thing, wish I'd got the goto option as clouds coming, have to be up for work", found it, and it looked exactly like Nick's sketch.

Great sight, going to bed happy!

[David Smith]

Got home too late last night to have a go but got it tonight in the 250mm Dob. Not much to see in thee ES18mm but obvious with the ES11mm.

[Stu]

It's been clear in SE Essex until it clouded up at 22.30, so came in.

The SN in M82 easy to see in my 10" Dob, started at 44x to see M81 & 82 in same field, best views of M82 & SN were at 86x & 150x.

I feel sure a smaller scope will reveal it.

The SN is about 1/4 of the way along the elongated smudge of M82, from the NW tip.

If it brightens further, it will be spectacular.

Regards, Ed.

Yep, got it in a 4" :-). Pretty tough, but definitely visible.

Stu

[Special K]

Might be wrong but it appears the IAU has designated this as SN 2014J if you keep a logbook.

Clouds refused to arrive last night so I had another look at 130x. Very nice. Nothing possible with 10x50 bins as far as I can tell, though this is one for the scope anyway.

[Special K]

There's a live webfeed Saturday night if skies are cloudy where you are: could be worth a look at this one:

http://www.virtualtelescope.eu/webtv/

[YouCannotBeSirius]

Having the same stuff you've got, you should see M81 and M82 both in the FOV using your 25mm. There will be plenty of area around them. If you're trying in the evening, M81 will be to the left and is more obvious of the two as an oval fuzz. M82 will be a straight fuzz and is to the right. At this powere they may be hard to spot so take your time. Also avoid the moonrise but that is currently after midnight. Referencing the photo in NYTECAM's post #20 on is thread, this is the shape of what you will roughly see of M82, albeit much more dim, and you also need to flip his picture upside down to approximately simulate the inversion from the newt. Approximate because the actual view will rotate as the evening wears on. Note that the supernova forms a line of 4 stars with it being the last star in the chain. When you spot the galaxy just use these to find your way. You will need to switch to higher mag for that final bit, like the 10mm.

I've just viewed it (hurray!) and much of the time was using averted vision. It is dimmer than the next star in the chain but was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was! Think this is my first one too, woohoo!

Thank you for explaining this, it will help a lot when the weather decides to play nice again and I may be more successful at finding it this time.

[YouCannotBeSirius]

Might be wrong but it appears the IAU has designated this as SN 2014J if you keep a logbook.

Clouds refused to arrive last night so I had another look at 130x. Very nice. Nothing possible with 10x50 bins as far as I can tell, though this is one for the scope anyway.

I couldn't see it with 10x50 binoculars either... although I've read on a few websites that as it gets brighter we are supposed to be able to see it with binoculars. I guess it will also depend on light pollution, including from the moon. I hope it does become possible to see it with binoculars.

[WaveSoarer]

YouCannotBeSirius,

I posted this on another thread but here is the star hop I use. It's made up with small steps to easily identifiable groups of stars starting of from naked-eye stars. It works every time for me and doesn't involve the long star hop across the diagonal of the bowl through Dubhe (it would be very difficult to track your progress and M81 and M82 are faint enough to pass before you knew it. The triangle of three stars (where the path in my hop turns 90 degrees) is very recognisable and the pair of stars (lying perpendicular to this track) are also easy to spot and have about the same brightness as the three stars in the triangle. M81 and M82 are just below this pair. If you can just about see the little triangle of stars with your naked eyes (and I can just about though not always convincingly)  then the galaxies should be readily visible in binoculars as faint smudges (one extended and the other fairly round).

Dave

[YouCannotBeSirius]

YouCannotBeSirius,

I posted this on another thread but here is the star hop I use. It's made up with small steps to easily identifiable groups of stars starting of from naked-eye stars. It works every time for me and doesn't involve the long star hop across the diagonal of the bowl through Dubhe (it would be very difficult to track your progress and M81 and M82 are faint enough to pass before you knew it. The triangle of three stars (where the path in my hop turns 90 degrees) is very recognisable and the pair of stars (lying perpendicular to this track) are also easy to spot and have about the same brightness as the three stars in the triangle. M81 and M82 are just below this pair. If you can just about see the little triangle of stars with your naked eyes (and I can just about though not always convincingly)  then the galaxies should be readily visible in binoculars as faint smudges (one extended and the other fairly round).

Dave

Brilliant, that's really helpful, thank you! I feel much more able to find both M82 and M81 now. I often locate an object with binoculars first, even if I can't always see it with them, because in my mind it makes it easier to star-hop with the telescope.

This is great. I just need the weather to clear up now.

[DaddyBear]

Got it with a Skywatcher 200P at 125X in a severely light-polluted region of London. Using the comparison star chart from AAVSO, I'd put the supernova at around 11.6. Also my first time seeing M81 and M82 .

[John]

Got it with a Skywatcher 200P at 125X in a severely light-polluted region of London. Using the comparison star chart from AAVSO, I'd put the supernova at around 11.6. Also my first time seeing M81 and M82 .

Good result 

Even the brightest galaxies can be hard to spot when there is light pollution around - I reckon you did well to find them from a London observing site !

[andrew63]

Got it with a Skywatcher 200P at 125X in a severely light-polluted region of London. Using the comparison star chart from AAVSO, I'd put the supernova at around 11.6. Also my first time seeing M81 and M82 .  Thats pretty amazing -  seeing the galaxy for the first time which just so happens to have a  bright supernova present.  You have set the bar very high !    andrew

[cantab]

WaveSoarer, I'll have to try that star hop next time I look for M81/82 (which *hopefully* will be when the supernova is still visible, weather permitting!). I've gone from Dubhe before and up through the various faint stars around there, which was a bit tricky, yours looks simpler.

[Stu]

I've used that star hop for years and it works very well. I definitely think it is easier than 'diagonalling' across from Phecda and Dubhe, particularly for beginners or under light polluted skies because it takes you right to the galaxies and you know they are in the fov. If they are very faint they you can have the confidence to look with averted vision until you find then. From my skies I can't see even the triangle of stars with the naked eye :-(<br />

<br />

Stu

[stevend]

I am trying to spot the SN this evening and I am finding it difficult. I have found M82 ok and I see some brightness but whether it is the SN or another star I just cannot make out. A limitation of my eyes and/or the telescope. I am using a 25mm (60x) EP.

[Beulah]

Bagged the Supernova in between the rain!!

Very noticeable but even more prominent at 180x magnification!

[YouCannotBeSirius]

I'm still waiting for the weather to clear up... last few days were bad, next few days are set to be bad. Usually bad weather doesn't bother me so much, but not this time.

[andrew63]

I am trying to spot the SN this evening and I am finding it difficult. I have found M82 ok and I see some brightness but whether it is the SN or another star I just cannot make out. A limitation of my eyes and/or the telescope. I am using a 25mm (60x) EP.

If you increase the magnification a  to around 100x it should stand out a bit more. It will look like a faint star within the haze of galaxy - it will be the only star you can see in the galaxy and there is a bright 10 mag. star next to m82 and then the supernova. It will only be a pinprick of light so don't expect too much !

andrew

andrew

[stevend]

If you increase the magnification a  to around 100x it should stand out a bit more. It will look like a faint star within the haze of galaxy - it will be the only star you can see in the galaxy and there is a bright 10 mag. star next to m82 and then the supernova. It will only be a pinprick of light so don't expect too much !

andrew

Amazing, you have described what I have just done. I thought I saw something, swapped the 25mm EP for a 15mm (100x) and then using averted vision saw it.

[bingevader]

An awe inspiring spectacle, delighted the clouds cleared long enough to see it tonight.

Cheers

[YouCannotBeSirius]

I still can't find it. I've followed the star-hopping pictures and tried with binoculars and the telescope, I just cannot locate M82. Could it be that the light pollution combined with the size of my telescope (5.1" and 25mm EP) is preventing me from seeing it? I've been trying for 2 hours tonight after the weather cleared up. I've never had this trouble locating anything before, I can find and see M31 with the naked eye in my area usually.

At one point I thought I saw it: there was a small fuzzy patch with the right shape which had a pinprick of light where the supernova should have been, but the reason I think it wasn't M82 is this: there was another star/point of light on the other end of the fuzzy patch... also I couldn't see M81 near it either.

It's been so frustrating tonight.