SN 2013ej is a

Type II-P supernova A Type II supernova (plural: ''supernovae'' or ''supernovas'') results from the rapid collapse and violent explosion of a massive star. A star must have at least 8 times, but no more than 40 to 50 times, the mass of the Sun () to undergo th ...

in the nearby spiral galaxy Messier 74 (NGC 628). It was discovered by the

Lick Observatory The Lick Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the University of California. It is on the summit of Mount Hamilton, in the Diablo Range just east of San Jose, California, United States. The observatory is managed by th ...

Supernova Search on July 25, 2013, with the 0.76 m

Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope The Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope (KAIT) is an automated telescope used in the search for supernovae. The telescope had a first light in 1998, and is a noted robotic telescope. It had first recorded data in August 1996, and was formally ded ...

, with pre-discovery images having been taken the day before. Supernova 2013ej was noted for being as bright as 12th

magnitude Magnitude may refer to: Mathematics *Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction *Magnitude (mathematics), the relative size of an object *Norm (mathematics), a term for the size or length of a vector *Order of ...

. SN 2013ej was compared to supernovas SN 2004et and SN 2007od. Based on various observations it has been theorized that the supernova originated from a

red supergiant Red supergiants (RSGs) are stars with a supergiant luminosity class ( Yerkes class I) of spectral type K or M. They are the largest stars in the universe in terms of volume, although they are not the most massive or luminous. Betelgeuse and Anta ...

star that went supernova. SN 2013ej is one of the brightest Type II supernova detected to-date in NGC 628.

References

External links

Light curves and spectra
on th
Open Supernova Catalog
20130725 Supernovae Pisces (constellation) {{var-star-stub