Explosion in Virgo

[wookie1965]

5 minutes ago, Dave scutt said:

You could do with something like mine Paul I have Ankylosing spondylitis and can't lift anything heavy but wheeling the 12"dob out of the shed is easy 

If you dont mind could you send me a few photos please, really appreciate it.

[Nik271]

I'm thrilled that I saw SN2022hrs last night in my Skymax 180. It was a tiny spark of light just north-east of M60. It looked a touch fainter that a nearby north-west star in the same field of view, which is listed at magnitude 12, so the supernova is still going steady at 12.5 I guess. My first supernova! Thanks for the heads up!

[Littleguy80]

26 minutes ago, Nik271 said:

I'm thrilled that I saw SN2022hrs last night in my Skymax 180. It was a tiny spark of light just north-east of M60. It looked a touch fainter that a nearby north-west star in the same field of view, which is listed at magnitude 12, so the supernova is still going steady at 12.5 I guess. My first supernova! Thanks for the heads up!

Awesome Nik! I remember feeling really excited with my first SN. This was number 11 for me and I still get excited!

[Stu]

Well done @Nik271!

Last night looked great here, would have been an ideal time to see it but I was too tired after a long trip home 😢. Hopefully it will be around for a bit longer. Moon getting brighter though!

[Littleguy80]

2 hours ago, Stu said:

Well done @Nik271!

Last night looked great here, would have been an ideal time to see it but I was too tired after a long trip home 😢. Hopefully it will be around for a bit longer. Moon getting brighter though!

I suspect the moon won’t stop you seeing the SN. You might struggle to see the host galaxy. The core of M60 is so bright that I think that will still show pretty well with the moon. We really should just get a dimmer switch on the moon for such occasions 😉

[Mircea]

Thursday night I made my second estimation of the brightness of SN 2022hrs.

The Moon was up and the sky was a bit hazy.

My first estimation was magnitude 12.392 on April 25 and 12.085 last night.

Well, don't take too seriously those many numbers after period, it is just calculus.

I'm not a master of the art. I started learning about variable stars just last Summer.

Clear sky, Mircea

[Littleguy80]

41 minutes ago, Mircea said:

Thursday night I made my second estimation of the brightness of SN 2022hrs.

The Moon was up and the sky was a bit hazy.

My first estimation was magnitude 12.392 on April 25 and 12.085 last night.

Well, don't take too seriously those many numbers after period, it is just calculus.

I'm not a master of the art. I started learning about variable stars just last Summer.

Clear sky, Mircea

Nice sketch, Mircea! Impressed that you’re breaking out the calculus to determine the magnitude!

[Simon Pepper]

Hi all 

finally got a clear night tonight anyone know if this SN is still visible? Thanks 

[Stu]

12 minutes ago, Simon Pepper said:

Hi all 

finally got a clear night tonight anyone know if this SN is still visible? Thanks 

I believe it is still mag 12.6 so should be visible still. I might give it a go myself.

[Simon Pepper]

8 minutes ago, Stu said:

I believe it is still mag 12.6 so should be visible still. I might give it a go myself.

Thanks Stu I’ll get setup then 🙂

[Littleguy80]

Picked the SN up again this evening using the 10” dob and 12.5mm Docter/Noblex. Looking at the core of M60 showed the SN really nicely in averted vision. 
Went for a bit of a pleasure cruise after that. Observing M57, Albireo, M56 and M27. Added the UHC filter on M27 for a final flourish. Despite the shorter nights, I’m really enjoying observing in these mild conditions. Especially when the Hesgehogs show up to keep me company. Feel very contented after such lovely relaxed observing. 

[Stu]

Nice one Neil. I tried here with the 8” but don’t think I got it. There was a spec of light nearby visible with AV but it seemed to be the wrong side of NGC4647. The Moon and poor transparency were not helping. I’ll try again when the Moon moves on, if it is still around.

[Littleguy80]

5 hours ago, Stu said:

Nice one Neil. I tried here with the 8” but don’t think I got it. There was a spec of light nearby visible with AV but it seemed to be the wrong side of NGC4647. The Moon and poor transparency were not helping. I’ll try again when the Moon moves on, if it is still around.

Thanks Stu. It seems to be holding its brightness well so far. Fingers crossed you can get it soon.  

[Mircea]

On 07/05/2022 at 01:15, Littleguy80 said:

Nice sketch, Mircea! Impressed that you’re breaking out the calculus to determine the magnitude!

Thank you Neil !

Last Summer I started to do variable star observing.

To upload the results to AAVSO one should folow their rules.

One is that the observer should report his own magnitude estimations and for that each should do his ''home work''.

Another rule I learned was to use the comparisson stars from the AAVSO charts.

Initialy I used charts and comparisson stars found in old books.

Over Winter I lost contact with this field but the practice was useful. And I intend to resume.

 

Clear sky, Mircea 

[josefk]

@Littleguy80  i enjoyed your original report. Can I ask where and how do you stay informed for these events and also maybe get a clue for how long they may be observable for? Then when you go to spot them is it just familiarity with the expected star field or view that helps you determine the interloper? I’m intrigued to have a go in the future. Cheers

[Littleguy80]

21 hours ago, josefk said:

@Littleguy80  i enjoyed your original report. Can I ask where and how do you stay informed for these events and also maybe get a clue for how long they may be observable for? Then when you go to spot them is it just familiarity with the expected star field or view that helps you determine the interloper? I’m intrigued to have a go in the future. Cheers

Hi @josefk, the site I use for Supernovae is this one: https://www.rochesterastronomy.org/supernova.html

It very often has images of the SN which are really helpful in picking out the SN. It often takes a bit of comparison with SkySafari or an atlas to figure out where to look. This was is very bright so a relatively easy one to spot. 

Happy hunting