First light of a supernova in NGC 613

[Piero]

A very nice story about an amateur astronomer `Víctor Buso` who captured the first light of a supernova in the spiral galaxy NGC 613 in the southern constellation of Sculptor. 

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/amateur-astronomer-captures-supernovas-first-light/?k=y4N%2B7Xpou9gO841zPISU2Kf8qbB4G%2FInKW%2FwEYRUYlk%3D&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=sky-jma-nl-180223 

I particularly like how the article concludes with his quotes: “Sometimes I wonder why I do this, why I put so many hours and so much passion into this . . . Now, I have found the answer.” 

 

More here: 

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-02331-4 

https://www.nature.com/articles/nature25151   (scientific article about the following up dynamical model of supernova explosion and further analyses - this requires a subscription)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_613  : "On September 20, 2016, Argentinian amateur astronomer Victor Buso captured supernova SN 2016gkg in NGC 613, just as it was starting to erupt.[13][14] This was a type IIb supernova, a supernova that initially shows a hydrogen envelope like a type II supernova,[13] but later loses the hydrogen lines in its spectrum to appear like a type Ib supernova. It showed the double peak that is common to many type IIb supernovae, rising to around magnitude 15.5 shortly after discovery and then again about 20 days later. The progenitor star has been identified in Hubble Space Telescope images from before its collapse, and it is likely to have been a yellow supergiant."

 

  

(NGC 613 frames from Víctor Buso)

 

 

 

(NGC 613 image from the Paranal Observatory in Chile)

 

 

(NGC 613 image from Hubble Space Telescope)

[niallk]

Wonderful stuff! 

Pity we can't see it from Irl/UK.