Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Ursa Major (UMa)  ·  Contains:  M 101  ·  NGC 5455  ·  NGC 5457  ·  NGC 5461  ·  NGC 5471
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M101 and Supernova 2023ixf, Scott Tucker
M101 and Supernova 2023ixf
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M101 and Supernova 2023ixf

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
M101 and Supernova 2023ixf, Scott Tucker
M101 and Supernova 2023ixf
Powered byPixInsight

M101 and Supernova 2023ixf

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Rain in May is real rare in southern Arizona, but it went away just in time for SN2023ixf to pop up in M101, so I was able to get this image a couple nights after discovery.  The supernova was classified as a type II, a core-collapse explosion of a massive star at the end of its life.  Early assessment I saw of Hubble and Spitzer images of the potential progenitor star place it around 15 solar masses, so it should have left a black hole behind.  The SN appears quite close to an obvious star-forming region in the outer spiral arm of M101, which is where you would expect to find massive, short-lived stars that would generate supernovas.

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M101 and Supernova 2023ixf, Scott Tucker