A newly discovered supernova, SN 2026ahvu, is blazing across the nearby galaxy NGC 1433, giving astronomers a rare opportunity to observe a stellar explosion as it unfolds.
Discovered on Nov. 2 by the ATLAS survey, the event is a Type Ia supernova, resulting from the thermonuclear destruction of a white dwarf that has accreted matter from a companion star. It initially appeared at magnitude 17 and within days brightened to 13.5, with an expected peak of 10.5-12.1 between Nov. 18 and 23.
Observations from the Dark Energy Camera on the Blanco telescope and the Gemini South telescope are tracking changes in brightness and spectrum, shedding light on the explosion mechanism and refining Type Ia supernovae as standard candles for measuring cosmic expansion. The supernova is also accessible to amateur astronomers in the southern hemisphere, who can view it as a faint point of light in NGC 1433.