SN 2023ixf
Bright core collapse supernova in the Pinwheel Galaxy.
SN 2023ixf was a Type II-L core collapse supernova located 21 million light years away in the Pinwheel Galaxy, within the constellation Ursa Major. It was one of the brightest core collapse supernovae of the 21st century, and its progenitor is believed to have been a supergiant star. The supernova is expected to have left behind either a neutron star or a black hole.
Quick Facts
- Host
- Pinwheel Galaxy
- Constellation
- Ursa Major
- Discovery
- 19 May 2023, 17:27 UTC by Kōichi Itagaki
- Distance
- 21 million ly
Facts from the source article.
Discovery and History
Kōichi Itagaki spotted SN 2023ixf on 19 May 2023, and astronomers quickly identified it as a Type II supernova. It shone at magnitude 14.9 when first seen. Two days earlier, the Zwicky Transient Facility had unknowingly captured it at magnitude 15.87. By 22 May, the explosion had climbed to roughly magnitude 11, visible through telescopes as small as 114 mm. It stayed bright enough for backyard observers for months before dimming began around 10 June 2023. The last supernova this near our planet was SN 2014J in Messier 82, about 12 million light-years away, nine years prior.
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