Supernova 1992C

This photo shows the newly discovered Supernova 1992C in the barred spiral galaxy NGC 3367. The supernova is the bright, star-like object in the lower left area (southeast of the centre of the galaxy), at the tip of a spiral arm. Most of the other point-like objects are interstellar nebulae in this galaxy, whose distance is estimated at about 60 Mpc (200 million light-years).

The 16.5-magnitude supernova was discovered by ESO astronomer Hans van Winckel on January 28, 1992. He found it on a photographic plate obtained by Guido Pizarro during a search programme carried out with the ESO 1-metre Schmidt telescope at La Silla. The present photo was reproduced from a 1-minute CCD exposure in visual light obtained by Massimo Della Valle and van Winckel on January 30, 1992, with the ESO/MP/ 2.2-metre telescope at La Silla.

Spectra of the supernova, obtained by Della Valle and Christopher Waelkens (Astronomical Institute of Leuven, Belgium), also with the 2.2-metre telescope, show it to be of type I1 and that the explosion must have happened between 10 and 20 days earlier, This means that it probably was a relatively young, heavy star that exploded. The expansion velocity was measured at about 7000 km/sec.

SN 1992C is the third supernova to be discovered in 1992. Another supernova (1986A) was found on February 4, 1986 in this galaxy, near the condensations in the spiral arms immediately above (north ofl the present supernova and to the left (east) of the centre of the galaxy.

The photo covers a sky area of 156x 106 arcseconds; north is up and east to the left.