Supernova in Whirlpool Galaxy - 20 million years in the making!

[drclay]

UPDATED, JULY 5!
Bright Supernova Graces Famous Whirlpool Galaxy!
The attached image was obtained at ASO-H45 (Petit Jean Mountain South) on the evening of July 3-4; the bright and well known Whirlpool Galaxy has been graced with one of the brightest SUPERNOVAE in many years, this one attaining magnitude 13 at its brightest.

The new star, embedded in the first spiral arm outside the galaxy's nucleus by about 60 arc seconds, can be clearly seen as a relatively bright star exactly at a 12:00 position below the galaxy's center, and midway between two foreground stars; note that these other two stars are in OUR Milky Way Galaxy and not part of the Whirlpool.

From all indications, the star will have rather slow decline over the next couple of weeks, followed by a very rapid drop in brightness....it is still an easy object visually in 8-inch and larger scopes and quite easy to photograph in smaller instruments with digital or CCD equipment.

The NEW image below shows a negative presentation of the object, located clearly directly "above" the galaxy's core and within the first spiral arm.  The CCD magnitude measured at H45 on July 5 was 14.06 (R)

Dr. Clay