Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Supernova Discovered in Nearby Spiral Galaxy M101

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for May 22, 2023 is “Supernova Discovered in Nearby Spiral Galaxy M101,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Image Credit & Copyright: Craig Stocks). The original explanation runs about 181 words.

A sprawling spiral galaxy is pictured with a new bright spot visible near the image bottom. This spot is a recently discovered supernova. A roll-over image shows the same galaxy in an image taken the previous month without the new supernova
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Craig Stocks Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“A nearby star has exploded and humanity’s telescopes are turning to monitor it. The supernova, dubbed SN 2023ixf , was discovered by Japanese astronomer Koichi Itagaki three days ago and subsequently located on automated images from the Zwicky Transient Facility two days earlier.”

— APOD editors, May 22, 2023

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
May 22, 2023
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Craig Stocks
Copyright
Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 181 words

All of May 2023 → · 2023 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

GalaxiesSupernovae

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: May 22 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.