SN 2011dh

SN 2011dh
Event typeSupernova Edit this on Wikidata
IIb[1][2]
Date31 May 2011[3]
ConstellationCanes Venatici
Right ascension13h 30m 05.08s[4][5]
Declination+47° 10′ 11.2″[4][5]
EpochJ2000
HostWhirlpool Galaxy (M51)
Progenitor?
Progenitor typeyellow supergiant[6][7]
Colour (B-V)?
Peak apparent magnitude12.1[8]
Other designationsSN 2011dh, [RMS2015] J133005+471010
[edit on Wikidata]

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]

  1. ^ "ATEL 3413: PTF11eon/SN2011dh is Possibly a Type IIb Event". Astronomers Telegram. 2011-06-08. Retrieved 2011-06-08.
  2. ^ "Early Optical Spectroscopy of SN 2011dh in M51". Astronomers Telegram. 2011-06-12. Retrieved 2011-06-14.
  3. ^ Kelly Beatty (June 3, 2011). "Supernova Erupts in Whirlpool Galaxy". Sky and Telescope. Retrieved 2011-06-06.
  4. ^ a b c d Richard Kinne (kqr) (2011-06-03). "AAVSO Special Notice #241: New Supernova in M51". AAVSO. Retrieved 2011-06-06.
  5. ^ a b c "ATEL 3398: PTF Discovery of a Type II Supernova in M51". Astronomers Telegram. 2011-06-03. Retrieved 2011-06-06.
  6. ^ a b "ATEL 3401: Properties of the Candidate Progenitor of SN 2011dh in M51". Astronomers Telegram. 2011-06-03. Retrieved 2011-06-06.
  7. ^ Matson, John (2013). "Sayonara, Supergiant". Scientific American. 309 (5): 18–9. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican1113-18a. PMID 24283007.
  8. ^ a b David Bishop. "Supernovae 2011dh in M51". supernovae.net (International Supernovae Network). Retrieved 2011-06-06.
  9. ^ "ATEL 3399: POSSIBLE PROGENITOR OF THE NEW TYPE II SN IN M51". Astronomers Telegram. 2011-06-03. 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.