Supernova 2008in was discovered on 26th December by Koichi Itagaki in the spiral galaxy M61 in Virgo. It is a type IIP supernova. Type II supernovae are formed from the core-collapse and explosion of massive stars (i.e. greater than 9 solar masses). Type IIP are designated as such because they reach maximum brightness, dim slightly, and then stay at almost the same brightness "plateau" for many days before fading (hence the name type IIP, i.e. II-Plateau). Other type II supernovae reach maximum brightness and then dim linearly and therefore classified as Type IIL (II-Linear).

This morning I managed to snatch 20 minutes of exposure in the pre-dawn sky. The supernova is relatively bright and clearly identifiable. Using AstroArt's photometry facilities I measured a magnitude of around 14.7 using the luminance data from my SXV-M7C camera.



Supernova SN2008in in M61 in Virgo