1:45 PM - 3:15 PM
[O11-P17] The challenge of supernova hunting with smart telescope
Keywords:Smart Telescope, Supernova, Extragalactic galaxies, Seestar
We investigated whether smart telescopes could be used in supernova searches, which amateur astronomers use to contribute to astronomy research. We decided to try to discover the first supernova among high school students.
Smart telescopes, which have appeared in recent years, have rapidly spread in popularity due to their high performance and price of less than 100,000 yen. In test shooting, we found that the smart telescope "SeeStar" can capture images up to magnitude 15, so we thought it could be used to search for supernovae and started photographing extraterrestrial galaxies.
The equipment used for the observation was ZWO's Seestar S50. It is a refracting altazimuth mount type telescope with an aperture of 50 mm and a focal length of 250 mm.
A dedicated app is installed on a smartphone or tablet PC, and a connection is established with the telescope body. At this time, the smartphone's GPS is turned on and the tripod is leveled. After operating the app to establish a connection between the smartphone and Seestar, the app is used to search for and select the extraterrestrial galaxy to be photographed, and the celestial body is automatically introduced. Once the target galaxy is introduced to the center of the screen, the camera will begin shooting. Shooting is performed every 10 seconds, and the images obtained are stacked on the app and automatically optimized to create an optimal image.
First, we verified the approximate magnitude of stars that Seestar can actually capture. For the verification, we photographed the open star cluster M45 Pleiades in Taurus. 335 stars were captured within an area of 1.1° x 0.7°, with the faintest star having a magnitude of 15.20. Of the 66 supernovae discovered by Japanese people between 2017 and September 2024, the average apparent brightness at maximum was 15.3. This suggests that it is possible to discover supernovae with Seestar.
The captured galaxy is compared with a star chart of the surrounding area, including the galaxy, using the astronomical simulation software StellaNavigator, and if there is an object not captured on the star chart, we check whether the object has moved or not. The object is photographed again at a time interval. Once we have confirmed that the object not shown on the star chart has not moved, we will measure the photometry of the star with Macali and measure its brightness before reporting it to the National Astronomical Observatory.
So far, we have photographed extraterrestrial galaxies over 15 observation days, but have not yet discovered a supernova. We photographed supernova 2024aeee, which appeared in the extraterrestrial galaxy NGC2523 in the constellation Camelopardalis, discovered by Shinichi Ohno on December 17, 2024, to confirm whether we can actually photograph a supernova with Seestar. This supernova was discovered with a brightness of 16.5 magnitude, and is known to be a Type II supernova. We photographed it on January 12, 2025. After the photograph was taken, we checked the image and found supernova 2024aeee, so we measured its photometry with Macali. The result was an apparent brightness of 14.47 magnitude ±1.12 magnitude. When this supernova was discovered, its apparent magnitude was 16.5, so it has increased in brightness by about two magnitudes in about one month since its discovery, but the data reported by the IAU does not indicate that it has reached that brightness. There may be an issue with the exposure time for shooting with Seestar. In the future, we would like to verify the optimal shooting time.
Smart telescopes, which have appeared in recent years, have rapidly spread in popularity due to their high performance and price of less than 100,000 yen. In test shooting, we found that the smart telescope "SeeStar" can capture images up to magnitude 15, so we thought it could be used to search for supernovae and started photographing extraterrestrial galaxies.
The equipment used for the observation was ZWO's Seestar S50. It is a refracting altazimuth mount type telescope with an aperture of 50 mm and a focal length of 250 mm.
A dedicated app is installed on a smartphone or tablet PC, and a connection is established with the telescope body. At this time, the smartphone's GPS is turned on and the tripod is leveled. After operating the app to establish a connection between the smartphone and Seestar, the app is used to search for and select the extraterrestrial galaxy to be photographed, and the celestial body is automatically introduced. Once the target galaxy is introduced to the center of the screen, the camera will begin shooting. Shooting is performed every 10 seconds, and the images obtained are stacked on the app and automatically optimized to create an optimal image.
First, we verified the approximate magnitude of stars that Seestar can actually capture. For the verification, we photographed the open star cluster M45 Pleiades in Taurus. 335 stars were captured within an area of 1.1° x 0.7°, with the faintest star having a magnitude of 15.20. Of the 66 supernovae discovered by Japanese people between 2017 and September 2024, the average apparent brightness at maximum was 15.3. This suggests that it is possible to discover supernovae with Seestar.
The captured galaxy is compared with a star chart of the surrounding area, including the galaxy, using the astronomical simulation software StellaNavigator, and if there is an object not captured on the star chart, we check whether the object has moved or not. The object is photographed again at a time interval. Once we have confirmed that the object not shown on the star chart has not moved, we will measure the photometry of the star with Macali and measure its brightness before reporting it to the National Astronomical Observatory.
So far, we have photographed extraterrestrial galaxies over 15 observation days, but have not yet discovered a supernova. We photographed supernova 2024aeee, which appeared in the extraterrestrial galaxy NGC2523 in the constellation Camelopardalis, discovered by Shinichi Ohno on December 17, 2024, to confirm whether we can actually photograph a supernova with Seestar. This supernova was discovered with a brightness of 16.5 magnitude, and is known to be a Type II supernova. We photographed it on January 12, 2025. After the photograph was taken, we checked the image and found supernova 2024aeee, so we measured its photometry with Macali. The result was an apparent brightness of 14.47 magnitude ±1.12 magnitude. When this supernova was discovered, its apparent magnitude was 16.5, so it has increased in brightness by about two magnitudes in about one month since its discovery, but the data reported by the IAU does not indicate that it has reached that brightness. There may be an issue with the exposure time for shooting with Seestar. In the future, we would like to verify the optimal shooting time.