Supernova 2023ixf in M101

I'm sure many of you may already know of the supernova that occurred in the Pinwheel galaxy, M101. I wanted to capture it as soon as I could but, as usual, clouds prevented me from doing so until May 26, when it cleared sufficiently to get a decent image.

I had taken an image of M101 way back on Dec 28, 2013, when I was just starting out with astrophotography. I had recently acquired my large telescope (the EdgeHD11) and this was one of my first attempts at imaging a galaxy. I didn't even own a dedicated astro camera back then - the image was taken with my Canon 50D body. I'm not sure why I haven't taken a recent image of M101 as it is a wonderful galaxy, but that's another story.

Amateur astronomer Koichi Itagaki discovered it on May 19, 2023. The supernova should remain visible to amateur astronomers with backyard telescopes for a few months. The supernova – named 2023ixf – lies in the direction of the constellation Ursa Major, near the end of the handle of the Big Dipper.

So here is my image of M101 with the supernova marked (and the 2013 image for reference).

Supernova 2023ixf in M101
May 26, 2023 - EdgeHD11/ASI533mc
40x180sec with UV/IR block filter

M101 - Dec 28, 2013
EdgeHD11/Canon 50D
12x120sec ISO 3200

You can read more about this object at SkyAndTelescope.  Details of my image can be found at Astrobin.

Latest image from Mikey's Place - the Sombrero Galaxy

Since galaxy season is upon us I decided to give the ASI533mc a workout. For those of you who do not know what galaxy season is here is a short explanation.

There is a region in the sky where a significant number (the vast majority actually) of galaxies congregate. As the Earth swings around its orbit in the spring, it faces the plane of the our own Milky Way but at night it faces a part of the sky that reveals what some of us call the Realm of the Galaxies. During the months of April, May and June, several hundred of these galaxies become easy to image with telescopes of 10 inches aperture or more. And, with just a little extra effort, up to thousands can be imaged but will appear rather small as they are much farther distant.

Most of these galaxies are clustered around the constellation Leo the Lion and just beyond Leo's tail. This cluster, some 4,500 or more of them, is known as the Coma-Virgo Cluster and lies about 60 million light years away. This enormous distance is why these galaxies are so faint. Some of these galaxies are larger and brighter than our Milky Way galaxy but still hard to see. 

Sombrero Galaxy - May 11, 2023
EdgeHD11 Telescope / ASI533mc camera
58x120sec subs thru UV/IR cut filter

The photo displayed here is the Sombrero Galaxy (one of the Messier objects, M104, and also designated as NGC 4594). It lies 31.1 million light years from the Milky Way and is slightly larger in size at about 94,900 light years in diameter (the Milky Way is estimated to have a diameter of 87,400 light years). Because of it's large distance from us it appears in the sky to be only 9' x4' (the ' is a minute of arc which is 1/60 of a degree, making the size about 0.15 degree in the long dimension). It has a very bright nucleus, and a rather large central bulge (which is unusual for galaxies). In addition it sports a prominent dust lane in its outer disk, which is viewed almost edge-on. It is the dark dust lane and the bulge that give it the appearance of a sombrero hat (thus the name).

More details about my image of the Sombrero can be found on AstroBin.