Supernova in M101

On 19th May 2023, a supernova was spotted in galaxy M101, which is approx 21 million light years away. The supernova has been named SN 2023ixf.

At 2am this morning (26th May - one week after the initial discovery) Society member Anthony Day captured this image of the galaxy and the supernova stacked from 5 original photographs. Equipment used: Altair 115/0.8 reducer/ZWO 2600MC/Idas P2 filter.

Update - Before and After Images

Here is a before and after comparison using an image of M101 taken before the supernova and a lower resolution image taken last night, aligned to match. Photos by Adam Jefferson.