THE #SUPERNOVA HAS REACHED ITS PEAK: If Lebron James can slow down, so can a supernova. Less than a week after it exploded into view near the Big Dipper, "new supernova SN 2023ixf in the #Pinwheel #Galaxy may have stopped brightening," reports Eliot Herman, who photographed the plateauing fireball on May 24th:

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supernova might become as bright as magnitude +10 (or even better). The shortfall will tell researchers something about the star's environment, which can slow the expansion of the fireball if the star system is choked with gas.

SN 2023ixf is a Type II supernova caused by the core collapse of a massive star. A shock wave escaped the dying star on May 19th (Earth time), creating a fireball first noticed by Koichi Itagaki of Yamagata, Japan.

Magnitude +11 is far too dim to see with the unaided eye. However, it is an easy target for backyard telescopes. Considering that the supernova is 21 million light years away, it's actually pretty bright.
https://spaceweather.com/

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