Supernova SN 2013ej in galaxy M74

A new Type IIP supernova was discovered in spiral galaxy M74 in the constellation Pisces by the Lick Observatory Supernova Search on 25th July. It has brightened rapidly to around magnitude 12.4 and is visible in 8″ amateur telescopes, but will show up readily in images taken on lower aperture telescopes of 4-6″ under dark and clear skies.

This star was originally a supergiant about 8x the size of the sun before it ran out of fuel to burn, collapsed due to gravitational forces and then exploded into the bright source of light that we can now see. Besides blasting new heavy elements out into space the supernova may leave behind a neutron star, which is the compressed remnant of the stars original core.

Image taken 4/8/13 4.01am local observatory time at Nerpio, Spain using remote iTelescope T07 (Planewave 17″ CDK, SBIG STL-11000M ABG). 5 x 300 secs Lum. Processed in Maxim DL5, Adobe Photoshop CS2, DeepSkyStacker 3.3.2

AAVSO Light Curve: