SN2009ip: Dead or Just Resting?

SN2009ip: Dead or Just Resting?

When the supernova impostor SN2009ip brightened to a V-band absolute magnitude of -17.7 near the end of 2012, the outburst was classified as a Type IIn supernova and many observers thought the star had finally exploded for good. In this paper, however, the authors present several months of multiband imaging of transient 2012b and argue that the low limit on the nickel mass and lack of most heavy elements in the ejecta suggest the progenitor is still around, and that transient 2012b was produced instead by the collision of two massive shells, possibly ejected by the pulsational pair instability.

Super-luminous Supernovae

Super-luminous Supernovae

Super-luminous supernovae are a recently discovered rare class of stellar explosions with luminosities 10 – 100 times higher than normal supernovae. We summarize what is known about how these events are powered.

Extreme Supernovae with Pan-STARRS

Extreme Supernovae with Pan-STARRS

Starting in 2005 with SN 2005ap, astronomers began to detect new transients that are far more luminous than previously-known supernovae. With brightnesses ten times those seen in Type 1a’s, these new supernovae have been dubbed “ultraluminous supernovae.” This paper presents two new supernovae discovered by Pan-STARRS.