Supernova in M51

BTW, Where does one look to try and find Supernovae in our Galaxy, or is it a case of it happening and someone just noticing?
Bill H.

Alot of people do a photographic search. They take exposures of the sky and then check there images with a star altas to see if anything new has appeared. For the likes of M51 you would need more than just a camera prob some high quailty CCD images to get in close and be able to seperate the stars.

Search and search and search along the plane of the milkyway by visual or photographic patrols every clear night even with a full moon in the sky Even then it could still catch us of guard especially if it appears during daylight hours. Then it would be waiting for everyone after sunset just by looking up. One things for sure...there is a very high chance that the next one will be discovered by an amateur astronomer ( i hope it is anyway )

Keith..whats your take on this?

All best!

thats rapid brightening :shock: They don't normally brighten that fast do they?
Bill H.

Can do, type II usually brighten up alittle quicker than type I. Type II will then dim a little and stay constant for perhaps a couple of months before dimming down.

Cheers,
~Al

BTW, Where does one look to try and find Supernovae in our Galaxy, or is it a case of it happening and someone just noticing?

Conor & Martin have it bang on, even more amatuers then ever before now scan the sky visually (like I do) and photographically to search for novae/supernovae. About 90% of all recorded and observed novae occur along the plane of the milkyway, since this is where most stars are concentrated.

The sheer amount of observations coming in daily to AAVSO & VSNET are incredible, variable star observing (and comet obs) are one of the few things left that amatuers can activly contribute to, since they can get to observe a star now quicker than professionals :shock:

I was out again last night, no joy, still, there's always next time.
Keep lookin' up!
Keith..

Thanks keith

I knew you would be out last night also Its nice to see Chi Cygni bright, makes for a good pratcie Nova while a doing a dome search doesnt it.

Good luck with your search keith