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SN 2011dh

SN 2011dh was a supernova in the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51). It was discovered on 31 May 2011, with an apparent magnitude 13.5. and confirmed by several sources, including the Palomar Transient Factory. A candidate progenitor was detected in Hubble Space Telescope images. The progenitor may have been a highly luminous yellow supergiant with an initial mass of 18-24 solar masses. The supernova peaked near apparent magnitude 12.1 on 19 June 2011. Emission spectra indicated that the explosion was a type II supernova, in which a massive star collapses once nuclear fusion has ceased in its core.

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SN 2011dh
Event typeSupernova Edit this on Wikidata
IIb12
Date31 May 20113
ConstellationCanes Venatici
Right ascension13h 30m 05.08s45
Declination+47° 10′ 11.2″45
EpochJ2000
HostWhirlpool Galaxy (M51)
Progenitor?
Progenitor typeyellow supergiant67
Colour (B-V)?
Peak apparent magnitude12.18
Other designationsSN 2011dh, [RMS2015] J133005+471010

SN 2011dh was a supernova in the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51). It was discovered on 31 May 2011, with an apparent magnitude 13.5.4 and confirmed by several sources, including the Palomar Transient Factory.5 A candidate progenitor was detected in Hubble Space Telescope images.9 The progenitor may have been a highly luminous yellow supergiant with an initial mass of 18-24 solar masses.6 The supernova peaked near apparent magnitude 12.1 on 19 June 2011.8 Emission spectra indicated that the explosion was a type II supernova, in which a massive star collapses once nuclear fusion has ceased in its core.4

SN2011dh was the third supernova to be recorded in the Whirlpool galaxy since 1994 (following SN 1994I and SN 2005cs).10 The supernova frequency in the Milky Way is estimated to be around one event every 40 years.11

References

References

  1. Arcavi, I.; Gal-Yam, A.; Polishook, D.; Yaron, O.; Xu, D.; Li, W.; Filippenko, A. V.; Silverman, J. M.; Cenko, S. B.; Nugent, P. E.; Poznanski, D.; Gorbikov, E.; Sullivan, M.; Kasliwal, M. M.; Ofek, E. O.; Horesh, A.; Quimby, R.; Walker, E. S.; Van Dyk, S. D. (2011). "PTF11eon/SN2011dh is Possibly a Type IIb Event". The Astronomer's Telegram. 3413: 1. Bibcode:2011ATel.3413....1A. Retrieved 2011-06-08.
  2. Stringfellow, G. S.; Howell, S. B.; Probst, R.; Seebode, S. (2011). "Early Optical Spectroscopy of SN 2011dh in M51". The Astronomer's Telegram. 3428: 1. Bibcode:2011ATel.3428....1S. Retrieved 2011-06-14.
  3. Kelly Beatty (June 3, 2011). "Supernova Erupts in Whirlpool Galaxy". Sky and Telescope. Retrieved 2011-06-06.
  4. Richard Kinne (kqr) (2011-06-03). "AAVSO Special Notice #241: New Supernova in M51". AAVSO. Retrieved 2011-06-06.
  5. Silverman, J. M.; Filippenko, A. V.; Cenko, S. B. (2011). "PTF Discovery of a Type II Supernova in M51". The Astronomer's Telegram. 3398: 1. Bibcode:2011ATel.3398....1S. Retrieved 2011-06-06.
  6. Li, W.; Filippenko, A. V.; Van Dyk, S. D. (2011). "Properties of the Candidate Progenitor of SN 2011dh in M51". The Astronomer's Telegram. 3401: 1. Bibcode:2011ATel.3401....1L. Retrieved 2011-06-06.
  7. Matson, John (2013). "Sayonara, Supergiant". Scientific American. 309 (5): 18–9. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican1113-18a. PMID 24283007.
  8. David Bishop. "Supernovae 2011dh in M51". supernovae.net (International Supernovae Network). Retrieved 2011-06-06.
  9. Li, W.; Filippenko, A. V. (2011). "Possible Progenitor of the New Type II SN in M51". The Astronomer's Telegram. 3399: 1. Bibcode:2011ATel.3399....1L. Retrieved 2011-06-06.
  10. Nemiroff, R.; Bonnell, J., eds. (5 June 2011). "Another Nearby Supernova in the Whirlpool Galaxy". Astronomy Picture of the Day. NASA.
  11. Tammann, G. A.; Loeffler, W.; Schroeder, A. (June 1994). "The Galactic supernova rate". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 92 (2): 487–493. Bibcode:1994ApJS...92..487T. doi:10.1086/192002.
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