Supernovae Monitoring and Discovery

Project Aims

• to determine the light curves of recently discovered supernovae using CCD observations from both Durham and the La Palma pt5m
• to monitor a nearby rich galaxy cluster in order to discover new supernovae and to measure the supernova rate (or upper limit) in the nearby dense cluster environment

Project Notes

1. Learn how to use the telescope and CCD system efficiently

   • Review the L1 User's Guide material to refresh your understanding of the apparent movement of objects in the night sky
   • Study the provided reference material on the telescope and CCD

2. Research background material

   • Understand the aims of the project
   • Study the web-based information linked from the provided References page
   • Revise the material covered in the "Observational Techniques" part of the Level-2 "Stars and Galaxies" module
   • Read Chapter 8 (Photometry) of "The Handbook of Astronomical Image Processing" by Berry and Burnell
   • Review your understanding of the photometry errors of objects on CCD images (see e.g. John Simonetti's short article (local copy)
   • appreciate the points listed on the How to get good photometric data page
   • Search out additional sources of information

3. Plan your project

   • Select a set of recently discovered supernovae that can be monitored, e.g. well-placed for observations in terms of RA and Dec, not too faint, ideally available for measurement before maximum light. Regularly check for new discoveries during the term
   • Determine the best time to observe your targets
   • Estimate the likely exposure time required for your targets. Ensure that your targets and your comparison stars do not saturate but the exposure times are long enough to give reasonable photometric errors
   • Select a nearby rich galaxy cluster to observe and estimate your chances of discovering a new supernova
   • Plan your project write-up; consult the online DUO Report Format Guide and Marking Criteria

4. Write-up the "Introduction and Background" sections of your project

5. Explore the provided software

   • Understand and test the provided software for measuring the relative brightnesses of the objects on your CCD images: are the quoted errors reasonable?
   • Understand and test the image stacking software provided
   • Explore the random and systematic uncertainties of the software
   • Write-up your understanding of the software

6. Make observations of (a) your target supernovae from Durham and request regular observations with the pt5m on La Palma to supplement your Durham measurements) and (b) your rich galaxy cluster field from Durham.

   • Ideally you will be able to gather ~20 photometry measurements of each known supernova and ~10 photometry measurements of your cluster field
   • Measure the relative brightness of each supernova observation using GAIA
   • Compare your measurements with others that are reported on the web
   • Write-up your results and conclusions

7. Supernova Light Curve Determination

   • Construct the light curves of your supernova targets and for Type Ia supernovae determine the peak brightnesses and the delta m15 magnitudes
   • Provided good light curves are obtained for Type Ia supernovae then an estimate of the Hubble constant can be made
   • Supply your final supernova light curves for the Astrolab web page

8. Discovery of New Supernovae and Supernova Rate Determination

   • Immediately after the images are taken of your rich galaxy cluster field visually search for new objects by overlaying known objects with GAIA; check that these are not stars with unusual colours or a passing asteroid
   • Estimate the magnitude limits reached for the cluster field
   • Estimate the total amount of galaxy luminosity surveyed in the cluster field
   • Estmate the supernova rate and compare with literature values
   • Write-up your conclusions

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jrl

2020-Jun-17 12:28:36 UTC