A nearby star has exploded in Spiral Galaxy M101and our telescopes are turning to monitor it.
Image Credit & Copyright: Craig Stocks
The supernova, dubbed SN 2023ixf, a type II supernova, was discovered by Japanese astronomer Koichi Itagaki three days ago and subsequently located on automated images from the Zwicky Transient Facility two days earlier.
SN 2023ixf occurred in the photogenic Pinwheel Galaxy M101, which, being only about 21 million light-years away, makes it the closest supernova seen in the past five years.
The featured image shows the home spiral galaxy two days ago with the supernova highlighted, while the roll-over image shows the same galaxy a month before.
SN 2023ixf will likely brighten and remain visible to telescopes for months.
source APOD, Earthsky, Utah Desert Remote Observatories
