7 Mar - Big Dob searches for 11 supernovae

[alanjgreen]

Date: Thursday 7th March 2019. 2130-0300am
Scope: 20” f3.6 Lukehurst Dob with Paracorr (fl = 2089mm & f4.1).
Night Vision: PVS-14 with Photonis 4g INTENS.
Eyepieces: Plossl 55mm (f2 x38), Panoptic 27mm (f4 x77), DeLite 18.2mm (f5.8 x115).
Moon: 0%

 

Lets get cracking on the Supernovae.

I had pre-prepared a list of eleven supernovae to be targeted (eight of these I had already viewed over the last 7 weeks so it would be a return trip to see if they have changed).

 

1 UGC3554 (mag 14.61)
SN2019rz (distance from core 0.6”W & 0.1”S, Type IIn, mag 16.5 [Discovered 14/1/19])
Yes - With the 18.2mm DeLite, the galaxy was quickly located and showed a hazy halo around a bright dot core/SN. I made a sketch of the surrounding star pattern to check later…

2 UGC3660 (mag 13.62)
SN AT2018lkg (0.3”W & 0.9”N, Type IIn, mag 15.7 [Discovered 30/12/18])
Yes - With the 18.2mm DeLite, the galaxy was quickly located and showed a flat disk around a bright dot core/SN. The SN seemed to be around the 5 o’clock position. There were two nearby stars to add to my sketch…

3 PGC 21253 (mag 15.6)
SN2019ava (Type Ia, mag 16.8 [Discovered 08/2/19])
Yes - With the 18.2mm DeLite, the galaxy was quickly located and showed a flat disk with two dots close together (blinking), one was the core and one was the SN. I sketched a star pattern “heart shaped” made of 10 bright stars.

4 PGC23042 (mag 15.1)
SN AT2019azh (0.2”W & 0.1”S, Type unknown, mag 14.6 [Discovered 22/2/19])
Yes - With the 18.2mm DeLite, the galaxy was quickly located and showed a circular disk with a bright centre. Maybe the core was slightly elongated, maybe wishful eyeball.

5 UGC4642 (mag 14.3)
SN2018hfg (4.8”W & 7.7”S, Type IIn, mag 16.5 [Discovered 07/10/18])
Yes – This is a good one. Last seen on 25/2 and seemed easier tonight. The galaxy is easy to find and is wrapped on three sides by 7 brighter stars. Three dots are see in the area of the galaxy, two in the disk (core & SN) plus one slightly further out (field star).

6 NGC3254 (mag 12.9)
SN2019np (26.3”E & 67.8”N, Type Ia, mag 14.5 [Discovered 09/1/19])
Yes – With the 18.2mm, the galaxy disk was large around a bright core. The SN was bright and easily see on the edge of the disk. I last viewed this SN on 17/1 and it is now much dimmer than it was back then, its brightness is now closer to the two field stars either side of the galaxy.

7 NGC3304 (mag 13.9)
SN2019aik (6”E & 9.2”N, Type Ia, mag 15.9 [Discovered 30/1/19])
Yes – With the 18.2mm, the galaxy disk appeared flat. The SN was a tough one and appeared just below the core at 7 o’clock position. I marked up the star pattern…

8 UGC6929 (mag 15)
SN2019bm (40.5”W & 1.7”N, Type Ia, mag 16.5 [Discovered 02/1/19])
Yes – another good one. The galaxy appears as a circular disk with the SN seen at the 2 o’clock position set back a decent distance from the core and outside the disk. Its nice to get an easy one for a change. I viewed it in both the 18.2mm & 27mm eyepiece.

9 UGC7367 (mag 13.3)
SN2019arb (8.3”W & 5.7S, Type Ia, mag 16.7 [Discovered 08/2/19])
No – The galaxy was easily located but the search for the SN was a failure. I also failed to find it on 26/2 but I did see it on 15/2. I notice that Rochester has updated the brightness to mag 18 this morning so that’s the last of this one.

 

10 UGC7534 (mag 14.5)
SN2018hna (6”E & 3”N, Type II, mag 15.6 [Discovered 22/10/18])
Yes – This remains a very easy target. 27mm eyepiece. The SN is a decent distance from the core and makes a bright oblong shape with the core and two field stars. There is a small field star in between the core and SN. The galaxy disk is just a tiny fleck to one side of the core.

 

11 UGC 8577 (mag 13.62)
SN2019va (16.2”W & 17.6”N, Type IIP, mag 16.3 [Discovered 16/1/19])
No – I tried with 18.2mm & 27mm but there was no sign of the SN. I did observe this one on 15/2.

 

It was a bit of a marathon, it took me 3 hours to get through these targets. I was aided by my Nexus push-to and a Sky Safari observing list that I created earlier in the day.

I spent the rest of my night outside continuing to work on the "Brightest Galaxies with NV" list. It was a pretty cold night and both me and the scope were a little iced up by the time I packed up at 3am.

 

Clear Skies,

Alan