A new Type II Supernova was detected on June 2nd in M51 by French amateur's (Stephane Lamotte and Marc Deldem). It has been confirmed by the Palomar Transient Factory, also the possible progenitor has been found. This makes it the second supernova detected in M51 in 6 years.
Type II Supernovae occur when a massive star ends it's life. When the core runs out of fusionable material the reduction in energy production removes pressure support from the interior of the star. The interior then collapses either into a neutron star or a black hole. In response to the collapse the rest of the star is ejected in a massive explosion of energy called a supernova.
Supernovae are detected all the time from the broader universe. However, one so close to us (about 7 Mpc) is uncommon. This gives astronomers an excellent opportunity to study these massive explosions in more detail than is available for a more distant supernovae. Even better would be a supernovae in our own Galaxy which is due to occur, (about 1-3 supernovae happen in our Galaxy every 100 years). The most recent Galactic supernovae was G1.9+0.3 whose light reached us 140 years ago.
Given the early nature of these observations, more details on this event will be forth coming as more instruments are brought to bear to observe the event.
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