On 19 May 2023, multiple observers reported a supernova in M101 (approximate discovery timestamp: 2023-05-19 17:27:15.000). Light curve and spectroscopy observations indicate a type-II supernova (core collapse) in an early phase. Pictured is a wide-field observation of the M101 galaxy using "amateur" LRGB filter set, with combined 3nm Hα emission line observation highlighting star-forming regions. Pre-explosion HST data suggest that the progenitor was a red supergiant class star with a mass of ~12 M☉ [
https://arxiv.org/abs/2305.14447].
Meteorological conditions did not allow earlier observations of the galaxy, but a continuous series of clear nights allowed repeated observations of SN2023ixf in G channel to allow plotting a light curve (5-30 x 30s subs, calibrated, filtered, aligned and integrated with Pixinsight, g2v calibration done with MaximDL):
Date Mag_g2v* (PDS200)2023-05-25 10.685
2023-05-27 10.993
2023-05-28 10.956
2023-05-29 10.844
2023-05-30 11.062
2023-05-31 10.988
2023-06-01 10.981
2023-06-02 11.083
2023-06-03 11.174
2023-06-05 11.148
2023-06-06 11.168
2023-06-07 11.189
2023-06-08 11.249
2023-06-09 11.421
2023-06-10 11.495
2023-06-11 11.301
2023-06-12 11.412
2023-06-13 11.530
2023-06-14 11.565
2023-06-15 11.550
2023-06-16 11.603
2023-06-17 11.622
Observations and measurements will continue and the table will be updated.
Being the first time I attempt such observation, I realize there might be errors in my approach, but I'm quite happy that they are in line with the expected light curve of a Type-II supernova (core detonation):
I'm pondering if I should invest in a Sloan / J-C filter set to enable higher-quality photometric work in future. While calibration and photometric transformation functions can be applied to RGB filters, it would be very impractical in reality to apply such transformations using standard photometry software such as AstroImageJ or MaximDL.
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