Bangalore, May 24. Amateur astronomers in ISRO, Fahd Bin Abdul Hasis, Kiran Mohan, and Vishak Sasidharan from Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), Valiamala have photographed SN2023ixf using a modest setup consisting of a DSLR camera and basic sky tracking equipment, despite the challenging climatic conditions.
Renowned amateur astronomer Mr. Koichi Itagaki discovered SN2023ixf on May 19, 2023. This remarkable celestial event, classified as a Type-II supernova, is located in the Pinwheel Galaxy (M101), approximately 21 million light years away from Earth. Supernovae are awe-inspiring phenomena that result from the explosive death of massive stars.
What’s truly remarkable about the photograph by the amateur astronomers from ISRO is that the team captured this celestial event using a Nikon Z6 ii camera equipped with a Samyang 135 mm lens at f2.8 and ISO 1000, along with the iOptronSkyGuider pro as their sky tracking device. This simple setup allowed them to record the supernova’s evolving appearance in the night sky.
The image processing techniques employed by the team involved stacking multiple frames to enhance the details of SN2023ixf. On May 22, 2023, they stacked 107 light frames of 20 seconds each, totaling 35 minutes of exposure time (shot at 135 mm and cropped). Similarly, May 19, 2020 photo was stacked from 107 light frames of 25 seconds each, totaling 45 minutes of exposure time (shot at 300 mm).
The passion, dedication, and ingenuity of amateur astronomers demonstrating that some rare celestial events can be observed and captured even with basic equipment, given the right skills and determination is praiseworthy. The wonders of the universe are within reach for those who dare to explore and observe.
