On May 19, 2023, the closet supernova in a decade appeared in the night sky in the outer band of the Pinwheel galaxy (M101 / NGC 5457). Located in the Constellation Ursa Major, the Pinwheel galaxy is a classical spiral galaxy that is approximately 21 million light years away. It is estimated that it contains 1 trillion stars, measuring at a diameter of 170,000 light years across. By comparison, the Milky Way has an estimated diameter of 100,000 to 120,000 light years.
This galaxy has a high population of ionized hydrogen (H II) regions that are perfect for star formation. It is in one of these regions that a supergiant star reached the end of its life by running out of fuel to make energy with in its core.
Stars make energy through the nuclear fusion process, converting lighter elements into heavier elements in the periodic table. The heaviest elements that can be made in a star is nickel (eventually decaying into iron). Once the core becomes inert with iron and nickel, the game is up. The outer core rushes inward toward the inner core at speeds up to 23% the speed of light. The core temperature increases to 100 billion Kelvin due to the pressure. The inner core further collapses until to a point where it stops, due to pressure from the compacted neutrons (held up by neutron degeneracy). The imploding outer stellar material bounces off the inner compacted core, and explodes outward at escape velocity in a spectacular explosion. Heavier elements than iron are briefly created, spreading throughout space.
The remaining inner core becomes either a neutron star or black hole, depending on the remaining mass of the inner core. On June 23, 2023 I was able to finally get my telescope out and get some astro-photos of this galaxy. Be sure to check out my latest YouTube Video below.
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