Capturing a Supernova

They don't come along very often. Supernova SN 2014J was discovered by astronomer Steve Fossey, of University College London and four undergraduate students on 21st January. It is a  Type Ia supernova, the closest Type Ia supernova in the last 40 years. Type 1a supernova's are very useful as they produce a consistent peak of luminosity due to the uniform mass of white dwarfs that explode via the accretion mechanism. The value is very stable and allows these explosions to be used as standard candles to measure the distance to their host galaxies. This is because the visual magnitude of the supernova depends primarily on the distance.

Unfortunately, the supernova may put on a great show, but the Scottish weather doesn't always play ball. I set up my scope (an 8" reflector) and camera last night in my garden and took some images. Between the clouds and the threatening rain I only got about 10 minutes of useful imaging before I had to give up. However, the supernova is really obvious once you find the target. I saw it straight away. The image above shows M81 and M82. M82 is the lower cigar shaped Galaxy and in the mid-upper left you can see Supernova 2014 J.

If we zoom in on M82, the supernova is quite clear as an orange spot to the upper left of the Galaxy.

Checks by astronomers have found that the supernova was visible on images taken as early as January 15th. Indications were that the supernova was discovered approximately 14 days before maximum light, so it is expected to get brighter over the following fortnight, probably bright enough to be visible with binoculars throughout the Northern Hemisphere within a couple of days. It should reach maximum brightness of around magnitude 8.5 or so with the next two weeks.