Spying a Supernova

Clear skies permitting, there is a rare chance to view a distant supernova over the coming nights. The supernova, SN2011fe, is located in the Pinwheel Galaxy, M101, some 21 million light-years away.

First observed around 10 days ago, the Type Ia supernova is expected to reach a peak magnitude in the coming night of around +10. This makes it a viable target for small telescopes and high powered binoculars.

The distant explosion was initiated by mass from a companion star being drawn onto a compact white dwarf star. Eventually the white dwarf accumulates sufficient mass to such a point that nuclear fusion is triggered deep in the star creating an ernergy release that rips the star.

The Pinwheel Galaxy is located in the constellation of Ursa Major, and at the moment it is most favourable for viewing shortly after sunset when it is at its highest altitude in the night sky. The table below gives the position of the supernova for northern European latitudes in terms of altitude in the sky and azimuth, or compass direction, for the coming night.

The event is one of the closest supernova to occur in decades and astronomers will undoubtedly take the opportunity to observe the event across the entire electromagnetic spectrum in order to understand about both the exploding star and its companion.

Additionally, Type Ia supernova are used as "standard candles" to measure the distance to nearby galaxies. The observation of one so close to Earth should help refine the models for those calculations.