Not even 100 years ago, spotting such objects in the night sky would be reserved for only the most ultra-wealthy people on the planet (or to those most deeply connected to major universities with their own observatories, on a very dark mountaintop, somewhere). The equipment alone would consume 50 years of an average person wages, just to amass.
But here and now (for about the last half-century, in truth), people who are essentially hobbyists may properly earn the sobriquet "Mr. Supernova" -- having found several of them, on his own. Amazing! Here is the latest, an about once in a decade find, at least for those popping off in our local neighborhood:
. . .A new supernova in the Pinwheel Galaxy, aka M101, is the closest to Earth in a decade. Amateur astronomer Koichi Itagaki discovered it on May 19, 2023. The supernova should remain visible to amateur astronomers with backyard telescopes for a few months. The supernova – named 2023ixf – lies in the direction of the constellation Ursa Major, near the end of the handle of the Big Dipper.
The last supernova in M101 was in 2011. Andy Howell, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Barbara, explained on Twitter that the 2011 explosion resulted from a white dwarf that underwent a thermonuclear supernova. Andy said that the new supernova is most likely from a different cause, from a core collapse of a massive star at the end of its life. . . .
And the brightening should be visible (if you live far away from city light pollution), on a clear night, after the moon sets, even to the naked eye, near the end of the handle on the Big Dipper. Now you know, with a hat tip to our erstwhile Anon. commenter -- with eyes on the night skies, like Galileo. Grin.
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