Well here is a thing.

PJ - One of the main things to bear in mind here is that if its a type Ia then its due to a white dwarf in a binary system sucking matter from (usually) a red giant. Once the white dwarf reaches the Chandreskhar limit the star will explode (all type 1As explode with the same brightness and are thus used as standard candles to measure distance etc.) All other SN types are due to the core collapse of massive stars.

What type of SN was it classified as????

Type Ibc according to the Nature paper.

Ib or Ic ? (not that there's much difference).

I'm trying to work that out. The paper says Ibc, but I hadn't seen that class before. I guess it means it contained a little Helium? Either that or they have given up on the distinction between b & c and just call them bc now

all type 1As explode with the same brightness and are thus used as standard candles to measure distance etc.) All other SN types are due to the core collapse of massive stars.

So there are only 2 types of SN?

I'm not that keen on this classification system since it is open to other factors which have not been included. Two white dwarfs can merge and thus exceed the Chandreskhar limit but porduce a much more luminous supernova with the same chemical signature as a white dwarf in orbit around a red giant. This would give a much closer distance int he calculations used for standard candles. Without knowing the nature of the white dwarf orbital partner doubt has to be cast on the usage as a standard candle. At the moment its a good theory but not fact.

I'm not that keen on this classification system since it is open to other factors which have not been included. Two white dwarfs can merge and thus exceed the Chandreskhar limit but porduce a much more luminous supernova with the same chemical signature as a white dwarf in orbit around a red giant. This would give a much closer distance int he calculations used for standard candles. Without knowing the nature of the white dwarf orbital partner doubt has to be cast on the usage as a standard candle. At the moment its a good theory but not fact.

I agree. Too much faith has been put in these standard candles and rarely is nature that simple.

all type 1As explode with the same brightness and are thus used as standard candles to measure distance etc.) All other SN types are due to the core collapse of massive stars.

So there are only 2 types of SN?

Basically - Yes - as far as we know. There are of course subdivisions of the types based on brightness etc...
Type II-P - Plateau - brightness remains constant for several months.
Type II-L - Linear - Sharp peak in brightness then rapid fade.
Type II-N - Narrow emission lines.
Type II-b - double peak in brightness