Supernova in M61 - SN2020jfo, mag 14.6

[alanjgreen]

Type II supernova found in M61 on 6th May.

http://www.rochesterastronomy.org/supernova.html#2020jfo

link to image

stated as mag 14.6 already, will get much brighter...

happy hunting next week!

Alan

Edited May 9, 2020 by alanjgreen

[John]

Thanks Alan,

Pity that Virgo is rather awkwardly placed after dark here. If that SN had popped a couple of months back .....

[Mark at Beaufort]

Thanks Alan. The Moon should be out of the way early next week so I will give it a go.

[Waddensky]

Great, thanks for the heads-up!

[alanjgreen]

11 hours ago, Mark at Beaufort said:

Thanks Alan. The Moon should be out of the way early next week so I will give it a go.

Mark,

 

You should also have a crack at SN2020hvf  in NGC3643 . I observed it on 28th April and it was bright and easy. It has brightened further to mag 13.0 now. Here are the links:

http://www.rochesterastronomy.org/sn2020/sn2020hvf.html

 

(rotate this image 180 degrees to match the view to a dob!).

Alan

Edited May 8, 2020 by alanjgreen

[Mark at Beaufort]

Thanks Alan that is very useful. How did I miss your previous thread!!

Its showing clear (fingers crossed) for tonight and I notice that astro darkness is 23.40 so Leo should still be okay to observe.

Checking the location of NGC 3643 its not shown in the Interstellarum atlas but it is in Uranometria. I guess that it is best to star hop from stars 84, 83 and 82. I also notice that NGC 3643 is in the middle of a straight line from Star 80 and star 75. Its just a matter of finding the correct galaxy so you photo of the star field will certainly help.

 

[alanjgreen]

I was on a mission last night (to bag the SN in M61 before the rise of the Devils Orb due around 2300). I went outside at 2215 to get setup and was so disappointed to see that it was still dusk. Only the few brightest stars were visible naked eye (but at least I could complete 2-star alignment).

By 2235 I was setup (with the 20" and NV setup) and nudged over to M100 for a test with the 55mm Plossl. M100 was just about visible so I felt a little deflated (but it is very large and surface brightness is lower) so I nudged down to M61 and SN2020jfo...

To my surprise the supernova was easily seen at x38 with the 55mm plossl. The SN appeared fainter than the nearest star above but brighter than the nearest star below (left hand side of galaxy).

I made a sketch:

(brighter stars have an "x" through them, "g" is galaxy)

Glancing back to the sky, it was still daylight to the west and pretty light above, so to see the SN in these conditions was amazing.

 

Next, I went to revisit NGC3643 and SN2020hvf. The galaxy is tiny and faint compared to M61 but the SN seems huge sitting at the side (gives the visual impression of being very large in area anyway) and it’s way brighter that the one in M61 too. So bright that it really overpowers the tiny galaxy patch to the side  

 

I revisited M61 with different eyepieces but the view was pretty much the same. The Moon started rising so eventually I moved onto some Globular Clusters before giving up around 2340 - there may be better opportunities as we move through next week so no need to be greedy tonight.

 

SN2020jfo becomes my #21st supernovae viewed in 2020. Which makes this my best year for supernovae hunting! (Unbelievable when you consider that most of January and all of February were lost to bad weather at my location.)

Alan

Edited May 9, 2020 by alanjgreen

[Mark at Beaufort]

Really enjoyable report Alan. I was mostly clouded out last night so I decided to leave the SN observing for a few days. Alan thanks for the diagram that would be very useful.

[Mike Maurer]

I was able to capture Supernova SNAT2020JFO last night.

Single frame, Meade LX200 Alt Az 10" f6.3 Nikon D500 camera.
Mucking about in Astroimage J I am estimating the magnitude at 14.2   +.04  /  -.2