Supernova 2013aa in Lupus (NGC5643) - mag 11.2 now

[starfinder]

There is a relatively bright Type Ia supernova now, SN 2013aa, in the southern constellation Lupus. The host galaxy is NGC 5643 (34m light years away), and the supernova is at R.A. = 14h32m33s.88, Decl. = -44°13'27".8

It is now at around mag 11.2, see:
http://www.aavso.org/apps/webobs/result ... esults=200
http://www.rochesterastronomy.org/supernova.html

More info:
http://www.universetoday.com/100101/bri ... ern-skies/
http://www.aavso.org/aavso-alert-notice-479


At mag 11.2, the supernova should be visible from Singapore on a clear night in an 8 inch telescope, and possibly smaller scopes too. A few weeks ago I managed to view a mag 12.2 star, and other mag 12.0 stars, from the city in my 8" SCT, but that was on a particularly clear night.

From Singapore skies these days, the supernova would be up in the south-east, above 20 deg altitude, at around 1.30am onwards.

[starfinder]

I managed to image SN 2013aa on early Saturday morning (23/2/2013) at around dawn. Below is a 10s image taken with an 8" SCT, taken from Singapore city.

The supernova was identified by comparing the image closely with the same area in a planetarium software (The Sky6), which shows stars to mag 14+. A screenshot is further below.

It seems to me that the supernova was then closer to mag 12.0, rather than the mag 11.2 reported at around that time. That's assuming TheSky6's catalogue is accurate and the comparison stars were not variable.

I also tried to view the supernova through the eyepiece. However, at that time, I could not tell for sure which one of the stars was the supernova, and before I could finish comparing it with images and charts, the sky became too bright. Due to light pollution, I could not even discern the presence of the host galaxy NGC 5643, which also does not appear in the image.