Event type | Supernova |
---|---|
Ic | |
Date | April 2, 1994 |
Constellation | Canes Venatici |
Right ascension | 13h 27m 47.62s[1] |
Declination | 47° 26′ 59.1″[1] |
Epoch | 1950 |
Distance | 8.32 Mpc (27.1 Mly) |
Remnant | N/A |
Host | Whirlpool Galaxy |
Colour (B-V) | 0.86[2] |
Peak apparent magnitude | 12.91[2] |
Other designations | SN 1994I, AAVSO 1325+47 |
Related media on Commons | |
SN 1994I is a Type Ic supernova discovered on April 2, 1994 in the Whirlpool Galaxy by amateur astronomers Tim Puckett and Jerry Armstrong of the Atlanta Astronomy Club. Type Ic supernova are a rare type of supernova that result from the explosion of a very massive star that has shed its outer layers of hydrogen and helium. The explosion results in a highly luminous burst of radiation that then dims over the course of weeks or months. SN 1994I was a relatively nearby supernova, and provided an important addition to the then small collection of known Type Ic supernova. Very early images were captured of SN 1994I, as two high school students in Oil City, Pennsylvania serendipitously took images of the Whirlpool Galaxy using the 30-inch telescope at Leuschner Observatory on March 31, 1994, which included SN 1994I just after it began to brighten.