Astrophotography by Anthony Ayiomamitis

Supernovae - PSN J06265101+5905026

Supernovae represent the violent explosions of massive stars which have reached the end of their life-cycle. These massive explosions where the bulk of a star's material is ejected into space and the interstellar medium are characterized with luminosities which easily can exceed that of the host galaxy for a brief period of a few weeks or even months. This ejection of material including heavy elements is both vital and critical for new generations of stars and exoplanets.

Supernovae are classified into one of two primary types. White dwarfs which gain matter via accretion have their cores collapse once they approach the Chandrasekhar limit of 1.38 solar masses, thus yielding a Type Ia supernova. Accretion of matter can be accomplished by a variety of means including via a close binary star companion or a merger with another white dwarf. In contrast, type Ib and Ic involve large stars which have exhausted their available fuel and collapse due to gravity. Type II supernovae involve much more massive stars (at least nine solar masses) where the nuclear fusion follows a steady path from lighter to progressively heavier elements (such as hydrogen to helium which is then converted to carbon etc) and until nuclear fusion is no longer possible at the core due to the iron and nickel that has been accumulated, thus leading to a huge core collapse and an ensuing stellar explosion.

Spectroscopy has also played a key role in identifying the type of supernova one observes and, in fact, now forms the basis for their classification. More specifically, type Ia supernovae are characterized without any hydrogen emission lines in their spectra and in contrast to type II which exhibit strong hydrogen emission lines. Furthermore, type I are further subdivided on the basis of the presence of a silicon line (615nm, type Ia), a helium line (type Ib) or neither one (type Ic) in their spectra.

Many supernovae leave behind them spectacular gas clouds and stellar remnants (neutrinos) which cover multiple full moons in width across the sky. Regrettably, for residents of the northern hemisphere, only four supernova remnants (SNR) are visible and, more specifically, the Crab Nebula (M1) in Taurus, the massive Veil complex (NGC 6960, 6974, 6979, 6992, 6995) in Cygnus, the Jellyfish Nebula (IC 433) in Gemini and Simeis 147 (aka Shajn 147, Sh 2-240) also in Taurus. The most recognized supernova remnant is perhaps the Crab nebula in Taurus which is believed to have exploded in 1054 AD as documented by Chinese astronomers of the time whereas Simeis 147 is especially dim and represents one of the faintest objects in the sky.

Note: Using AIP4Win V2.4 and differential photometry, the magnitude estimate for PSN J06265101+5905026 is 15.96 + 0.09 using GSC 3776:1599 (mag 10.68) as the comparison star and WDS STI 600 (mag 10.7) as the check star. For the CBAT announcement, click here. PSN J06265101+5905026 represents the second supernova discovery by my very good friend Dave Grennan.

Image Details
Supernova PSN J06265101+5905026 in Lynx
Imaging Details
Designation:
PSN J06265101+5905026

RA / Dec:
10h 43m 53.76s /
+11° 40' 17.9"


Constellation:
Lynx

Host Galaxy:
IC 2166

Magnitude:
16.2 (v)

Type:
I/C

Discovery Date:
2012/08/22.009
Date:
Aug 24, 2012
03:30 - 04:02 UT+3


Location:
Athens, Greece

Equipment:
AP 305/f3.8 Riccardi-Honders
AP 1200GTO GEM
SBIG ST-10XME
SBIG CFW10
SBIG LRGB CCD filters


Integrations:
Lum :  N/A
Red :  30 min (10 x 03 min)
Green :  N/A
Blue :  N/A
Binning :  1x1 (Lum),  1x1 (RGB)

Image Scale:
1.21" per pixel

Temperatures:
Ambient : + 24.0 ° C
CCD Chip : - 10.0 ° C

Software:
CCDSoft V5.00.201
CCDStack V1.6.0.5
Photoshop CS2