Supernovae in the Whirlpool

Object Name: 2011dh
Object Type: supernova
Location: Cherry Springs, Pennsylvania
Date: June 5, 2011
Media: digital

Notes

High absolute humidity made the dust lane detail in the western arm invisible, and the dust lanes in the outer arm to the south and east required special positioning of the eye. In this respect, the view was much worse than last time I observed M51 this spring. All details in the arms also looked “fatter.” On the other hand, the view this time was consistent throughout the night, and with the supernova (marked on the sketch) it was well worth staring at.

Earlier last week, when the supernova was already there but not yet broadly announced, and not yet known to me or my fellow observers, some gentlemen on the field suggested that I should look at M51, because it was so nicely positioned. I did not heed their advice, thinking that with the summer humidity, it would be hard to surpass the view I had earlier this year, and absorbed myself with some new objects. I had my earlier sketch with me in my journal (the rough ball-pen original), in which the superimposed stars were marked way below the magnitude of the supernova. It would be fun to make the discovery at least for myself if not for real, but even that apparently was not fated.