 Alight curve for SN 2005ap, adapted from Quimbyet al. (2007).[1] The purple arrows mark the upper limits for nondetections. | |
| Event type | Hypernova  |
|---|---|
| Ic[2] | |
| Date | byRobert Quimby Texas Supernova Search |
| Constellation | Coma Berenices |
| Right ascension | 13h 01m 14.84s |
| Declination | +27° 43′ 31.4″ |
| Epoch | J2000.0 |
| Galactic coordinates | 048.8351 +87.7429 |
| Distance | 4.7 billionlight years (1.441 billionpc ) |
| Host | SDSS J130114+2743 |
| Notable features | located 3.5" W and 3.4" N of the center of host galaxy |
| Other designations | SN 2005ap |
SN 2005ap was an extremely energeticType Icsupernova in the galaxy SDSS J130115.12+274327.5. With a peakabsolute magnitude of around −22.7, it is the second-brightestsuperluminous supernova yet recorded,[1] twice as bright as the previous record holder,SN 2006gy, though SN 2005ap was eventually surpassed byASASSN-15lh. It was initially classified asType II-L,[3] but later revised toType Ic.[2] It was discovered on 3 March 2005, on unfiltered optical images taken with the 0.45 m ROTSE-IIIb (Robotic Optical Transient Search Experiment) telescope, which is located at theMcDonald Observatory inWest Texas, byRobert Quimby, as part of theTexas Supernova Search that also discovered SN 2006gy.[4][5] Although it was discovered before SN 2006gy, it was not recognized as being brighter until October 2007.[5] As it occurred 4.7 billionlight years from Earth, it was not visible to the naked eye.
Although SN 2005ap was twice as bright at its peak than SN 2006gy, it was not as energetic overall, as the former brightened and dimmed in a typical period of a few days whereas the latter remained very bright for many months. SN 2005ap was about 300 times brighter than normal for a Type II supernova. It has been speculated that this hypernova involved the formation of aquark star. Quimby has suggested that the hypernova is of a new type distinct from the standard Type II supernova, and his research group have identified five other supernovae similar to SN 2005ap andSCP 06F6, all of which were extremely bright and lacking in hydrogen.[6]
| External image | |
|---|---|
 SN 2005ap |
