Supernova in Pinwheel
25 May 2023Something dramatic happened. SN2023ixf, a star in the Pinwheel galaxy went supernova. This galaxy is 21 million light years away so this is in fact very old news, but we only just got to hear about it last week. This is a target that I’ve previously imaged but I just had to do it again to see with my own eyes. I’ve only managed to get ~45mins on it so the quality isn’t great If you follow the lower arm of the galaxy, the supernova is clear to see. It’s the brightest object in that vicinity. In fact, every single other star you see in the whole image, including those overlaying the galaxy are in fact in our own galaxy. That’s just how bright this actually is. If this star were in our own galaxy, we’d likely be able to see it in broad daylight.
