Searching for Supernovae
Since 1998, I’ve had the privilege of working with Tim Puckett and the Puckett Observatory Supernova Search, looking for exploding stars in distant galaxies. Each clear night, Tim remotely runs several automated telescopes at his observatory in the mountains of North Georgia, imaging over 1,000 galaxies in the course of an evening. The next day, volunteers like myself analyze the images, comparing them with those in our archives, seeking out the “new stars”.
Supernovae help astronomers understand the life and death processes of stars. Furthermore, type I-a supernovae are extremely valuable as “standard candles” to measure the expansion and acceleration rates of our universe.
Below are my 24 discoveries to date.
Links to IAU circulars may not be immediately available. Images by Tim Puckett.
Image |
Designation |
Galaxy |
Date |
Magnitude |
Type |
IAUC/CBET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
2011bd | NGC 6473 | 2011-Mar-4 | 16.0 | Ia | CBET 2685 |
 |
2008hy | IC 334 | 2008-Dec-6 | 14.3 | Ia | CBET 1608 |
 |
2006cm | UGC 11723 | 2006-May-24 | 16.6 | Ia | IAUC 8716 |
 |
2006R | NGC 6142 | 2006-Jan-26 | 17.5 | Ia | IAUC 8664 |
 |
2005cc | NGC 5385 | 2005-May-19 | 17.7 | Ia | IAUC 8534 |
 |
2005bl | NGC 4070 | 2005-Apr-18 | 18.8 | Ia | IAUC 8515 |
 |
2005bo | NGC 4708 | 2005-Apr-17 | 15.3 | Ia | IAUC 8514 |
 |
2003gq | NGC 7407 | 2003-Jul-24 | 17.6 | Ia-p | IAUC 8168 |
 |
2003ge | NGC 6122 | 2003-Jun-21 | 17.8 | Ia | IAUC 8154 |
 |
2003K | IC 1129 | 2003-Jan-11 | 15.4 | Ia | IAUC 8048 |
 |
2003I | IC 2481 | 2003-Jan-9 | 17.6 | Ib | IAUC 8046 |
 |
2003D | MCG-01-25-9 | 2003-Jan-6 | 17.5 | Ia-p | IAUC 8043 |
 |
2002gd | NGC 7537 | 2002-Oct-5 | 16.7 | II | IAUC 7986 |
 |
2002dl | UGC 11994 | 2002-Jun-16 | 17.7 | Ia-p? | IAUC 7920 |
 |
2002ch | Anon. | 2002-Apr-16 | 18.4 | II | IAUC 7879 |
 |
2002bp | UGC 6332 | 2002-Mar-8 | 18.6 | ? | IAUC 7847 |
 |
2002au | UGC 5100 | 2002-Feb-8 | 17.7 | Ia? | IAUC 7823 |
 |
2000ew | NGC 3810 | 200-Nov-28 | 14.9 | Ic | IAUC 7530 |
 |
2000ci | NGC 6470 | 2000-May-12 | 18.1 | ? | IAUC 7424 |
 |
2000au | MCG+08-15-14 | 2000-Mar-28 | 17.9 | II | IAUC 7389 |
 |
1999fz | UGC 8164 | 1999-Nov-18 | 15.2 | Ia | IAUC 7314 |
 |
1999dj | UGC 1258 | 1999-Aug-8 | 17.8 | II | IAUC 7274 |
 |
1999di | NGC 776 | 1999-Aug-8 | 18.0 | Ib | IAUC 7274 |
 |
1998cr | Anon. | 1998-Jun-28 | 17.5 | ? | IAUC 6956 |