Supernova

[Taz's Master]

Yesterday a local high school student mentioned that there was a supernova, and it was going to be at its brightest over the weekend. This morning through a break in the cloud cover I was pretty sure I got a good look at it. Haven't read anything here about it did I miss a thread? Anyone else seen it?

[svandamme]

Doubt it's visible to the naked eye when our own sun is up over the horizon...
If it were visible, we'de be in a lotta trouble.

[masraum]

Were you using a telescope? Unless you were using a telescope, I don't think you saw it.

This according to the email that I get from Sky and Telescope magazine.

Supernova Erupts in M101
August 25, 2011 | SN 2011fe, the brightest supernova visible from northern latitudes in decades, appears to have reached its peak at about magnitude 10.0. It's in the nearby galaxy M101, which is low in the northwest right after dark

I don't think that part of the sky is visible in the morning right now. Not only that, but the supernova is measured as a magnitude 10 which is probably not bright enough for most folks to see without a telescope

[Taz's Master]

Originally Posted by svandamme

Doubt it's visible to the naked eye when our own sun is up over the horizon...
If it were visible, we'de be in a lotta trouble.

Morning, meaning 5:30am when I walk the dogs. At my house, Sun's still below the horizon, and the cloudless night sky is pretty spectacular here, very little light pollution.

masraum, I can generally see the Big Dipper, but even though I could see some stars, much of the sky was obscured by clouds, and I couldn't tell if I was looking at that constellation, but naked eye, no telescope. My understanding is that September 9 was supposed to be the brightest the supernova got, and I saw a fairly bright object (planet-like) where I don't recall one being, but the weather has precluded star gazing for some time, so it might not be the supernova. September 9 was supposed to be peak brightness, but if it is clear the next few mornings, I'll know.

[mikester]

You're supposed to be able to see it with binoculars, it's 21 million light years away.

Look Up! It's A Star In The Midst Of A Violent, Bright Death : The Two-Way : NPR

[968rz]

NO, not visible by eye; you need a really good pair of binoculars or a telescope.
I tried to find it with our 4" scope Thursday night but we had too many clouds.
To find it take the last 2 stars in the dippers handle and make an upward pointing triangle with the invisible nova as the top point and you should be close , then you need to look around for it.

[stealthn]

Tried to see it last night, but the full moon didn't help, even with a telescope. Did get to educate my wife on the fact it happened long before we we're born

[Taz's Master]

Originally Posted by 968rz

NO, not visible by eye; you need a really good pair of binoculars or a telescope.
I tried to find it with our 4" scope Thursday night but we had too many clouds.
To find it take the last 2 stars in the dippers handle and make an upward pointing triangle with the invisible nova as the top point and you should be close , then you need to look around for it.

Checked out the sky last night, and I could locate the Big Dipper's handle, and it was definately not what I saw the previous a.m. This morning, I could only see the bright body I saw Saturday before daylight, too much cloud cover to see any other stars.

[HardDrive]

I tried to see it with binoculars last night, but being in the middle of the city.......