Supernova SN 2023ixf in a windmill galaxy 21 million light-years away
Sebastian Gomez et al.
A star exploded in a galaxy just 21 million light-years away, giving astronomers a unique opportunity to observe supernova explosions in real time and in detail.
The supernova SN 2023ixf was discovered on May 19 in the Windmill Galaxy, or M101, by a Japanese amateur astronomer named Koichi Itagaki. It is the closest supernova to Earth since 2014’s SN 2014J, which is about 11 million light-years away. The supernova is already outstripping its main galaxy and is expected to peak in brightness in the next few days, but could remain visible for years.
Thousands of supernovae are observed each year, but the proximity of 2023ixf means it can be studied in much more detail than other supernovae.Telescopes around the world say they were trained in that direction “within hours of discovery” Azary Bostrom Researchers at the University of Arizona speculated that this was likely a Type II supernova, a type of supernova in which a supergiant runs out of fuel and collapses before it explodes.
Vostroem was assigned time to study ultraviolet light from the explosion with the Hubble Space Telescope. So far, the supernova appears to be interacting with material previously ejected by the star, which may be further investigated by Hubble observations. “How stars lose mass is one of the most interesting questions he has,” says Bostroem.
Two or three stars have been identified as possible supernova progenitors, including a type of massive star known as a Wolf-Rayet star, but this supernova is too bright at the moment to find out which cannot be clarified. Even the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope may tell us more when the supernova dims.
Observations of 2023ixf may provide valuable data in understanding how supernovae evolve. “This will be like a Rosetta Stone supernova,” says Bostroem. “It’s going to be one of those things that we compare everything to.”
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