Seeking Amateur Images of M101, Aug 22-24, for Supernova 2011fe Members of the LCOGT supernova team have been monitoring the evolution of a newly discovered supernova in M101. The discovery was made by the Palomar Transient Factory team on 24 August, which LCOGT astronomers are part of. Already it has attracted lots of international press attention and made the front page of Astronomy Picture of the Day !
PTF10ops - a subluminous, normal-width lightcurve Type Ia supernova in the middle of nowhere PTF10ops is a Type Ia supernova (SN Ia), whose lightcurve and spectral properties place it outside the current SN Ia subtype classifications. Its spectra display the characteristic lines of subluminous SNe Ia, but it has a normal-width lightcurve with a long rise-time, typical of normal luminosity SNe Ia. The early-time optical spectra of PTF10ops were modelled using a spectral fitting code and found to have all the lines typically seen in subluminous SNe Ia, without the need to invoke more uncommon elements.Maguire et al. 2011, MNRAS, accepted
Cepheid Variable Stars, Supernovae and Distance Measurement Discipline: EducationWhile stellar parallax can only be used to measure distances to stars within hundreds of parsecs, Cepheid variable stars and supernovae can be used to measure larger distances such as the distances between galaxies.Tags: supernovaCepheidtype Ia supernovaperiod
