UMass Lowell Undergraduates Study Rare Astronomical Phenomenon: Supernova in the Pinwheel Galaxy

In a galaxy far, far away, 21 million lightyears from Earth, a star with a mass at least eight times larger than our sun exploded, creating a supernova. The explosion occurred when the star, located in the Pinwheel Galaxy, ran out of nuclear fuel and collapsed. This rare phenomenon sparked interest from scientists around the world who sought to study this unique event.

Among those intrigued by the supernova were three UMass Lowell undergraduates: Jacob Medin, Ian Davis, and Jordan Orenberg. These physics majors were funded by the Kennedy College of Sciences’ Science Discoveries program to study the supernova during the summer after their first year of college. Under the guidance of Physics Assoc. Prof. Silas Laycock and assistance from Physics Ph.D. student Sayantan Bhattacharya ’21, the trio learned how to operate the UMass Lowell Schueller Observatory’s powerful telescope to capture images of the supernova.

In addition to their own observations, they also collaborated with the nonprofit organization Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston to obtain more images of the supernova. They then used AstroImageJ, a software for analyzing astronomical photos, to upload and analyze the data they collected together over three months. By tracking changes in magnitude due to brightness and temperature shifts observed through their telescopes, they gained valuable insights into this rare astronomical phenomenon.

Jordan Orenberg expressed his excitement at contributing to understanding supernovas and sharing their data with the world through collaboration with other scientists and organizations like Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston.

Through their research and collaboration efforts