Observing the supernova in M82

Friday evening, January 31, 2014

I joined my friend Ralph Muth to observe with his 20-inch in his suburban backyard. My estimate for the SN this evening (January 31)
was 10.5 mag, based on the AAVSO values of 10.0 and 10.6 for the two bright comparison stars.

Ralph observes the supernova

Ralph's 20-inch, view to South

The evening sky was clearer than most forecasts had predicted. The color of the SN was a nice yellowish/orange, which would surely
have been even more distinct in a darker sky. Using different magnifications, and experimenting with the focus, the SN looked at times
about equal as the 10.6 mag star (TYC 4383-1099-1), and at times clearly brighter - more like V = 10.4. My conviction that the SN was
at least a bit brighter than TYC 4383-1099-1 was strengthened by one-to-one comparisons: When comparing the 10.0 mag star directly
to the 10.6 mag star, their difference was more definite than the respective difference between the 10.0 mag star and the supernova. I
compared the latter pair to Pollux and Castor, and their difference looked quite similar (which is about 0.45 mag). So we both agreed on
V = 10.5, and if in doubt I would even incline to the brighter side of that.

Below M81, above M82 with SN (Image: Ralph Muth)

Ralph Muth

Chart of AAVSO with comparison magnitudes


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