It’s not everyday that a supernova explodes in a nearby galaxy, especially not as close as M51 (27 million light years). The last one in this particular galaxy was in 2005. Of particular interest this time is that M51 is one of the most imaged objects in the night sky so there’s a lot of possibility for examining it’s evolution before it’s official discovery.
So, here’s Dan & my picture from last night with the supernova marked:
