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APOD: 2023 May 22 Á Supernova Discovered in Nearby Spiral Galaxy M101
| << Yesterday | 22.05.2023 | Tomorrow >> |
Credit & Copyright: Craig Stocks
Explanation:
A nearby star has exploded and humanity's telescopes are turning to monitor it.
The supernova, dubbed
SN 2023ifx, was discovered by Japanese astronomer
Koichi
Itagaki
three days ago and subsequently located on automated images from the
Zwicky Transient Facility
two days earlier.
SN 2023ifx occurred in the photogenic
Pinwheel Galaxy M101, which, being only about 21 million light years away, makes
it the closest supernova seen in the past five years, the
second closest in the past 10 years, and the
second supernova found
in M101 in the past 15 years.
Rapid follow up observations already indicate that SN 2023ifx is a
Type II supernova, an explosion that occurs after a
massive star runs out of nuclear fuel and collapses.
The featured image shows
home spiral galaxy two days ago with the
supernova
highlighted, while the roll-over image shows the same galaxy a month before.
SN 2023ifx will likely brighten and remain visible to telescopes for months.
Studying such a close and young
Type II supernova may yield
new
clues about
massive stars and how they explode.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: M 101 - supernova
Publications with words: M 101 - supernova
See also: