The Night Sky: SUPERNOVA SN 2014J

The Night Sky: SUPERNOVA SN 2014J

On January 21st astronomy students in London spotted a Type 1a supernova in galaxy M82. It has been given the designation SN 2014J. Type 1a supernovae explode when a white dwarf star strips matter off a close companion star. When the stolen material reaches a volatile limit the white dwarf explodes. Galaxy M82 is 14 million light years away near the bowl of the Big Dipper. 

Maximum brightness of SN 2014J occurred Thursday January 30th.  Students from the Convent of the Sacred Heart took the attached images at the Mary Aloysia Hardey Observatory that night with a 76mm refractor and a Canon T2ia camera.

Eleven two minute images were stacked in Deep Sky Stacker software and processed in Photoshop. A “<” marks the supernova in the close up image of galaxy M82.

Galaxy M82 is interacting with nearby galaxy M81 seen in the right of this image.  The two will probably coalesce into one galaxy in the far future.

Starry nights!