SN 2004dj

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**SN 2004dj**
Observation data (Epoch J2000.0)

Supernova type	II-P
Remnant type	?
Host Galaxy	NGC 2403
Constellation	Camelopardalis
Right ascension	07^h 37^m 17.044^s
Declination	+65° 35′ 57.84″
Galactic coordinates	?
Discovery Date	31 July 2004 18:15 UTC ^[1]
Peak magnitude (V)	+11.2
Physical characteristics
Progenitor	Unknown star in compact cluster Sandage 96
Progenitor type	Unknown
Colour (B-V)	Unknown
Notable features	None

SN 2004dj was the brightest supernova since SN 1987A at the time of its discovery.

This Type II-P supernova was discovered by Koichi Itagaki, a Japanese astronomer on July 31, 2004. At the time of its discovery, its apparent brightness was 11.2 visual magnitude; the discovery occurred after the supernova had reached its peak magnitude. The supernova's progenitor is a star in a young, compact star cluster in the galaxy NGC 2403, in Camelopardalis. The cluster had been cataloged as the 96^th object in a list of luminous stars and clusters by Allan Sandage in 1984; the progenitor is therefore commonly referred to as Sandage 96. This cluster is easily visible in a Kitt Peak National Observatory image and appears starlike.

Image:Sandage96beforeafter.jpg

The image at left was taken two months before the supernova. The image pinpoints the location of the supernova within a cluster of massive, generally blue (but some red) stars called Sandage 96. This image was taken May 8, 2004, with the WIYN 0.9-metre mosaic camera at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona. The image at right from Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys pinpoints the supernova blast. The photo was taken on August 17. The light from this outburst outshines every star in the massive cluster. Credit for ground-based image: WIYN/NOAO/AURA/NSF, T. Rector (University of Alaska, Anchorage), Z. Levay and L. Frattare (STScI) Credit for Hubble image: NASA, ESA, A.V. Filippenko (University of California, Berkeley), P. Challis (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), et al.