MCG-2-34-61, Spiral Galaxy; Supernova 2007ca

Spiral Galaxy MCG-2-34-61 & Supernova 2007ca

Spiral Galaxy MCG-2-34-61

A 15 minute exposure with an STL-1301E CCD camera thru Kopernik's 20-inch F/8.1 Ritchey Chretien Cassegrain telescope. The field of view is about 13x16 arc minutes, with North at the top.
Time: 2:15 UT, May 14th, 2007.

Supernova 2007ca:

Discovered April 25th, 2007, by the Lick Observatory Supernova Search team.

The supernova was magnitude 16.7 at discovery.
Type Ia
The supernova is magnitude 15.94 in the Kopernik image.

Follow this Link to a NASA Web site on supernovas. It has a very nice animation and a description of what these objects are.

Spiral Galaxy MCG-2-34-61:

This Spiral Galaxy is in the Constellation of Virgo. It is a rather peculiar galaxy that either has a warped disk, or is actually two colliding galaxies in the process of merger. The image shows a dim extension to the upper right that is either a warped spiral arm or another galaxy. The galaxy, along with Supernova 2007ca, is about 187 million light years away. The galaxy is about 81,600 light years in diameter.

The small dim galaxy to the left of MCG-2-34-61 is cataloged as an infrared source; otherwise little is known about it.

MCG-2-34-61
Magnitude: 16.3
Constellation: Virgo
RA: 13h 31m 04.2s
Dec: -15° 06' 08" Epoch 2000
Size (mins): 1.5' x 0.3'
Classification: Sc pec, Spiral Galaxy, with peculiarities.

George Normandin, KAS

May 22, 2007