Supernova 2004W in M60

Supernova 2004W was discovered in M60 on January 28, 2004 by Lick Observatory Supernova Search (LOSS) with the Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope (KAIT). It is located 51.6" W and 78.7" S of M60's nucleus, and was estimated at 18.8 mag on its discovery, fading to mag 19.3 on February 11. Spectral investigations with CCD ar 310-920 nm show that it is of type Ia, and belongs to a subluminous subtype.

Shown at right is a "positive" version of the discovery image of this supernova, obtained by M. Moore and W. Li of LOSS with the KAIT.

It is estimated that this supernova flashed up about half a year ago. Therefore, it may be interesting to check any images of M60 obtained during this time.

Discovery image and information (KAIT/LOSS)
SN 2004W discovery announce (IAU circular 8286)
SN 2004W Resources, by David Bishop
NED data for SN 2004W
SIMBAD data for SN 2004W
Publications on SN 2004W (NASA ADS)
Messier Galaxies and their Supernovae and Supernovae in Messier Catalog Galaxies pages

Hartmut Frommert
Christine Kronberg
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Last Modification: August 11, 2005