Closest Supernova in 10 Years Breaks Record for SETI’s Number of Citizen Scientists

Astronomers observed the closest supernova in the last decade. The discovery broke records in terms of the number of observers.

Record Breaking Supernova 2023ixf

The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SET) Institute broke its previous records with the recent cosmic explosion that came the closest to Earth in the last ten years -supernova (SN) 2023ixf. Japanese amateur astronomer Koichi Itagaki discovered it for the first time on May 19, 2023. Amateur astronomers who worked with SETI and Unistellar's Cosmic Cataclysms program were on the case about an hour after its manifestation.

A supernova that occurred in the Pinwheel Galaxy, a spiral galaxy around 21 million light-years from Earth, attracted a record number of onlookers, including citizen scientists in the form of citizen scientists, Space.com reported.

The information would help researchers better understand the nature of Type II supernovas. These cosmic explosions happen when huge stars run out of nuclear fusion fuel and can no longer defend themselves against gravitational collapse.

Lauren Sgro, a researcher at the SETI Institute, said in a statement that what this citizen science network is capable of is quite amazing. Observers made the most of the unique opportunity because this was the nearest supernova of the previous ten years. They took action as soon as possible and kept watching, allowing Sgro and her team to see this program's full potential.

One hundred twenty-three committed amateur astronomers participated in the project, using 115 telescopes to conduct 252 observations to track how the supernova's light altered over time. This made it possible for the SETI researchers to create a profile for the supernova, also known as a light curve, which measures its brightness over time.

And for (SN) 2023ixf, the story isn't finished yet. Since the supernova is anticipated to be visible until at least August 2023, the Cosmic Cataclysms program's amateur astronomers will continue to follow its development during this time.

The study was published in The Research Notes of the AAS.

ALSO READ: Universe Is 2X Older Than We Initially Thought; Big Bang Occurred 26.7 Billion Years Ago

More About SN 2023ixf

Amateur astronomer Koichi Itagaki found the nearest supernova in the Pinwheel Galaxy, M101, on May 19. The Japanese supernova hunter has discovered more than 100 supernovae.

He noticed that it grew to mag. +13.5 in just 11 hours. By May 21, it reached mag. +11.0 and seemed to have plateaued.

Itagaki conveyed word of his discovery immediately, and when it was given the designation SN 2023ixf and distributed to the viewing community, both expert and amateur astronomers rushed to their telescopes.

Images of the star taken 33 and 18 hours before the discovery by Bronco Oostermeyer and fellow amateur astronomer David Kennedy revealed that the supernova had changed from a barely perceptible magnitude of +22.0 to a magnitude of +17.3 in just 15 hours.

Martin Bracken's photographs taken on May 16, however, showed no evidence of the celestial explosion. Bracken said he was fortunate enough to be imaging M101 on the day it was found and the next three days. The image unmistakably depicts the supernova's development over those three days.

According to NASA, the supernova is the biggest explosion ever observed by humans. Each blast is very bright and results from a star's power explosion.