Read and post the latest observations done by Members of WASI.
Upcoming Meetings:- Monthly Meeting TopicMarch 14, 2012Speaker: Michelle Thaller, Goddard Spaceflight CenterTopic: TBDInfrared Enthuses will recognize Dr Thaller from her work on the Spitzer Space Telescope and many other interviews and educational videos demo-ing why infrared is important for use in astronomy. […]
- Monthly Meeting Topic
- Next Planetarium Show
- Next Planetarium ShowNext show is February 25 at 7:30pm at BBNC. Call 410 386 2103 to reserve a spot. […]
- Next Planetarium Show
I will be looking for the possible nova in Scorpius tonight with TU’s spectrometer tonight.
For such a close galaxy, that new supernova is M51 seems awfully faint.
My thoughts exactly Curt! Supernovae are suppose to be brighter than the galaxy it resides in. This one I can only guess is obscured by dust? But I would have assumed the event would have blown the dust away. So you got me on this one.
Did some research… The supernova in M51 is a Type II-L.
Type II-L supernovae show a linear decline following the peak brightness. The luminosity decays a rate of 0.012 magnitudes per day for Type II-L.
The difference in the shape of the light curves (of the different Type IIs) is believed to be caused, in the case of Type II-L supernovae, by the expulsion of most of the hydrogen envelope of the progenitor star. Hope that helps.