SN 2006gy
SN 2006gy and the core of its home galaxy, NGC 1260, viewed in x-ray light from the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The NGC 1260 galactic core is on the lower left and SN 2006gy is on the upper right.
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| Other designations | SN 2006gy |
|---|---|
| Event type |
Supernova 
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| Spectral class | IIn |
| Observation | |
| Date | 18 September 2006 |
| Location | |
| Constellation | Perseus |
| Right ascension | 03h 17m 27.10s |
| Declination | +41° 24′ 19.50″ |
| Epoch | J2000 |
| Galactic coordinates | 150.2568 -13.5916 |
| Distance | 238,000,000 Ly (73 Mpc) |
| Remnant | N/A |
| Host | NGC 1260 |
| Characteristics | |
| Progenitor | Hypergiant in NGC 1260 Galaxy |
| Progenitor type | Hypergiant |
| Colour (B-V) | −0.50 ~ +1.60 |
| Notable features | is located 2.0" W and 0.4" N of the center of NGC 1260. |
| Energetics | |
| Peak apparent magnitude | +14.2 |
| See also | |
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SN 2006gy was an extremely energetic supernova, sometimes referred to as a hypernova or quark-nova, that was discovered on September 18, 2006. It was first observed by Robert Quimby and P. Mondol, and then studied by several teams of astronomers using facilities that included the Chandra, Lick, and Keck Observatories. In May 2007 NASA and several of the astronomers announced the first detailed analyses of the supernova, describing it as the "brightest stellar explosion ever recorded". In October 2007 Quimby announced that SN 2005ap had broken SN 2006gy's record as the brightest ever recorded supernova, and several subsequent discoveries are brighter still. Time magazine listed the discovery of SN 2006gy as third in its Top 10 Scientific Discoveries for 2007.
SN 2006gy occurred in a distant galaxy (NGC 1260), approximately 238 millionlight years (73 megaparsecs) away. Therefore, due to the time it took light from the supernova to reach Earth, the event occurred about 238 million years ago. The energy radiated by the explosion has been estimated at 1051ergs (1044J), making it a hundred times more powerful than the typical supernova explosion which radiates 1049 ergs (1042 J) of energy. Although at its peak the SN 2006gy supernova was intrinsically 400 times as luminous as SN 1987A, which was bright enough to be seen by the naked eye, SN 2006gy was more than 1,400 times as far away as SN 1987A, and too far away to be seen without a telescope.
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