This is a list of supernova candidates, or stars that are believed to soon become supernovae. Type II supernova progenitors include stars with at least 8~10 solar masses that are in the final stages of their evolution. Prominent examples of stars in this mass range include Antares, Spica, Gamma Velorum, [2] Mu Cephei, and members of the Quintuplet Cluster. [3] Type Ia supernova progenitors are white dwarf stars that are close to the Chandrasekhar limit of about 1.44 solar masses and are accreting matter from a binary companion star.
The list includes massive Wolf–Rayet stars, which may become Type Ib/Ic supernovae, particularly oxygen-sequence (Wolf-Rayet WO) stars. As of 2023, most of these candidates are in the Milky Way galaxy, however five oxygen-sequence Wolf-Rayet stars are also known in other galaxies.
Identifier | Epoch J2000 | Constellation | Distance | Spectral | Evolutionary stage | Possible supernova type | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
R. A. | Dec. | |||||||
IK Pegasi | 21h 26m 26.7s | +19° 22′ 32″ | Pegasus | 154.4±1.0 [4] | A8m:/DA | White dwarf | Ia | |
Spica | 13h 25m 11.6s | −11° 09′ 40.8″ | Virgo | 250+14 −13 [5] | B1 | Subgiant | [6] | |
Acrux | 12h 26m 35.9s | –63° 05′ 56″ | Crux | 320±20 [5] | B0.5 IV | Main sequence (blue dwarf) | II | [7] |
Alpha-2 Crucis | 12h 26m 36.4s | –63° 05′ 58″ | Crux | 320±20 [5] | B1 V | Main sequence (blue dwarf) | II | [7] |
Zeta Ophiuchi | 16h 37m 09.5s | −10° 34′ 02″ | Ophiuchus | 365±6.52 [1] | O9.5V | Main sequence (blue dwarf) | [6] | |
Betelgeuse | 05h 55m 10.3s | +07° 24′ 25″ | Orion | ~400–500 [8] | M2Iab | Red supergiant | IIP | [9] |
Alpha Lupi | 14h 41m 55.8s | –47° 23′ 17″ | Lupus | 465+12 −11 [5] | B1.5 | Blue giant | II | [6] |
Antares | 16h 29m 24.5s | –26° 25′ 55″ | Scorpius | 554+113 −80 [5] | M1.5Iab-b | Red supergiant | IIP | [6] |
Pi Puppis | 07h 17m 08.6s | –37° 05′ 51″ | Puppis | 807+72 −61 [5] | K3 Ib | Red supergiant | II? | [1] [10] |
S Monocerotis A | 06h 40m 58.7s | +09° 53′ 44″ | Monoceros | 920+150 −110 [5] | O7V | Main sequence (blue dwarf) | II | [1] |
S Monocerotis B | 06h 40m 58.7s | +09° 53′ 44″ | Monoceros | 920+150 −110 [5] | O9.5V | Main sequence (blue dwarf) | II | [1] |
Rigel | 05h 14m 32.3s | –08° 12′ 06″ | Orion | 1118+30 −28 [4] | B8Ia | Blue supergiant | IIn(pec?) | [11] |
Gamma2 Velorum | 08h 09m 32.0s | −47° 20′ 12″ | Vela | 1120+130 −100 [5] | WC8 | Wolf–Rayet star | Ib/Ic | [12] [2] |
Alnitak | 05h 40m 45.5s | −01° 56′ 34.3″ | Orion | 1260±180 | O9.5Iab | Blue supergiant | [13] | |
119 Tauri | 05h 32m 12.8s | +18° 35′ 40″ | Taurus | 1790+300 −220 [5] | M2Iab-Ib | Red supergiant | IIb | [1] [10] |
Deneb | 20h 41m 25.9s | +45° 16′ 49″ | Cygnus | 2615±215 [1] | A2la | Blue supergiant | IIL | [1] |
T Coronae Borealis | 15h 59m 30.2s | +25° 55′ 13″ | Corona Borealis | 2690+110 −100 [4] | M3III/D | White dwarf | Ia | [14] |
KPD 1930+2752 | 19h 32m 14.9s | +27° 58′ 35″ | Cygnus | 2860+130 −120 [4] | sdB/D | White dwarf | Ia | [nb 1] [15] [16] |
Mu Cephei | 21h 43m 30.5s | +58° 46′ 48″ | Cepheus | 3060+456 −130 [17] | M2Ia | Red hypergiant | IIn/IIb | [18] |
Rho Cassiopeiae | 23h 54m 23.0s | +57° 29′ 58″ | Cassiopeia | 3440+930 −610 [4] | G2Ia0e | Yellow hypergiant | IIL | [19] |
VY Canis Majoris | 07h 22m 58.3s | −25° 46′ 03″ | Canis Major | 3930+420 −350 [20] | M5eIa | Red hypergiant | II | [9] [21] |
IRAS 17163-3907 | 17h 19m 49.3s | −39° 10′ 37.9″ | Scorpius | 3930+990 −660 [4] | late B/early A | Yellow hypergiant | II | [22] |
Wray 17-96 | 17h 41m 35.4s | –30° 06′ 39″ | Scorpius | 3940+1110 −710 [4] | B3 | Luminous blue variable | ||
VV Cephei A | 21h 56m 39.1s | +63° 37′ 32″ | Cepheus | 4900 [23] | M2Iab | Red hypergiant | [1] | |
P Cygni | 20h 17m 47.2s | +38° 01′ 59″ | Cygnus | 5250±590 [24] | B1Ia+ | Luminous blue variable | IIb | [25] |
HD 168625 | 18h 21m 19.5s | −16° 22′ 26″ | Sagittarius | 5250+600 −490 [4] | B6Ia | Luminous blue variable | II | [26] |
NML Cygni | 20h 46m 25.6s | +40° 06′ 59.4″ | Cygnus | 5250+420 −360 [27] | M6I | Red hypergiant | II | [28] |
IRC +10420 | 19h 26m 48.1s | +11° 21′ 17″ | Aquila | 5600+2200 −1200 [4] | F8Ia+ | Yellow hypergiant | IIb | [29] [30] |
WR 142 | 20h 21m 44.3s | +37° 22′ 31″ | Cygnus | 5670+290 −270 [4] | WO2 | Wolf–Rayet star | Ib/Ic | |
WR 136 | 20h 12m 06.5s | +38° 21′ 18″ | Cygnus | 6700+500 −430 [4] | WN6(h)-s | Wolf–Rayet star | Ic | |
RS Ophiuchi | 17h 50m 13.2s | –06° 42′ 28″ | Ophiuchus | 7380+1000 −790 [4] | M2III/D | White dwarf | Ia | |
Eta Carinae | 10h 45m 03.6s | −59° 41′ 04″ | Carina | 8630+69 −68 [4] | LBV/O | Luminous blue variable | Ib | [31] [32] |
WR 93b | 17h 32m 03.3s | −35° 04′ 32″ | Scorpius | 8700+1900 −1300 [4] | WO3 | Wolf–Rayet star | Ib/Ic | |
WR 102 | 17h 45m 47.5s | −26° 10′ 27″ | Sagittarius | 9410+840 −710 [4] | WO2 | Wolf–Rayet star | Ib/Ic | |
HD 179821 | 19h 13m 58.6s | +00° 07′ 32″ | Aquila | 10500+2100 −1500 [4] | G5Ia | Yellow hypergiant | IIL | [33] [34] |
T Pyxidis | 09h 04m 41.5s | −32° 22′ 48″ | Pyxis | 10700+1700 −1300 [4] | White dwarf | Ia | [35] [36] | |
WR 104 | 18h 02m 04.1s | –23° 37′ 41″ | Sagittarius | 13400+9200 −3900 [4] | WC9d/OB | Wolf–Rayet star | Ib/Ic with Grb? | [37] [38] |
V445 Puppis | 07h 37m 56.9s | –25° 56′ 59″ | Puppis | 16000+5200 −4600 [39] | White dwarf | Ia | [40] | |
WR 30a | 10h 51m 38.9s | −60° 56′ 35.2″ | Carina | 38900+18500 −9500 [4] | WO4/O5((f)) | Wolf–Rayet star | ||
Sher 25 | 11h 15m 07.8s | −61° 15′ 17″ | Carina | 43500+5200 −4200 [4] | B1.5Iab | Blue supergiant | [41] | |
U Scorpii | 16h 22m 30.7s | –17° 52′ 42″ | Scorpius | 63900+68500 −17300 [42] | White dwarf | Ia | [43] | |
LMC195-1 | 05h 18m 10.3s | −69° 13′ 03″ | Dorado | 160000 [4] | WO2 | Wolf–Rayet star | Ib/Ic | |
S Doradus | 05h 18m 14.4s | −69° 15′ 01″ | Dorado | 169000 | LBV | Luminous blue variable | [44] | |
SMC AB8 | 01h 31m 04.1s | −73° 25′ 04″ | Hydrus | 200000 [4] | WO4/O4 | Wolf–Rayet star | Ib/Ic |
A supernova is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. A supernova occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star, or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion. The original object, called the progenitor, either collapses to a neutron star or black hole, or is completely destroyed to form a diffuse nebula. The peak optical luminosity of a supernova can be comparable to that of an entire galaxy before fading over several weeks or months.
Red supergiants (RSGs) are stars with a supergiant luminosity class and a stellar classification K or M. They are the largest stars in the universe in terms of volume, although they are not the most massive or luminous. Betelgeuse and Antares A are the brightest and best known red supergiants (RSGs), indeed the only first magnitude red supergiant stars.
A blue supergiant (BSG) is a hot, luminous star, often referred to as an OB supergiant. They are usually considered to be those with luminosity class I and spectral class B9 or earlier, although sometimes A-class supergiants are also deemed blue supergiants.
Solar radius is a unit of distance used to express the size of stars in astronomy relative to the Sun. The solar radius is usually defined as the radius to the layer in the Sun's photosphere where the optical depth equals 2/3:
Luminous blue variables (LBVs) are rare, massive and evolved stars that show unpredictable and sometimes dramatic variations in their spectra and brightness. They are also known as S Doradus variables after S Doradus, one of the brightest stars of the Large Magellanic Cloud.
A yellow hypergiant (YHG) is a massive star with an extended atmosphere, a spectral class from A to K, and, starting with an initial mass of about 20–60 solar masses, has lost as much as half that mass. They are amongst the most visually luminous stars, with absolute magnitude (MV) around −9, but also one of the rarest, with just 20 known in the Milky Way and six of those in just a single cluster. They are sometimes referred to as cool hypergiants in comparison with O- and B-type stars, and sometimes as warm hypergiants in comparison with red supergiants.
Westerlund 1 is a compact young super star cluster about 3.8 kpc away from Earth. It is thought to be the most massive young star cluster in the Milky Way, and was discovered by Bengt Westerlund in 1961 but remained largely unstudied for many years due to high interstellar absorption in its direction. In the future, it will probably evolve into a globular cluster.
A hypergiant (luminosity class 0 or Ia+) is a very rare type of star that has an extremely high luminosity, mass, size and mass loss because of its extreme stellar winds. The term hypergiant is defined as luminosity class 0 (zero) in the MKK system. However, this is rarely seen in literature or in published spectral classifications, except for specific well-defined groups such as the yellow hypergiants, RSG (red supergiants), or blue B(e) supergiants with emission spectra. More commonly, hypergiants are classed as Ia-0 or Ia+, but red supergiants are rarely assigned these spectral classifications. Astronomers are interested in these stars because they relate to understanding stellar evolution, especially star formation, stability, and their expected demise as supernovae. Notable examples of hypergiants include the Pistol Star, a blue hypergiant located close to the Galactic Center and one of the most luminous stars known; Rho Cassiopeiae, a yellow hypergiant that is one of the brightest to the naked eye; and Mu Cephei (Herschel's "Garnet Star"), one of the largest and brightest stars known.
Cygnus OB2 is an OB association that is home to some of the most massive and most luminous stars known, including suspected Luminous blue variable Cyg OB2 #12. It also includes one of the largest known stars, NML Cygni. The region is embedded within a wider one of star formation known as Cygnus X, which is one of the most luminous objects in the sky at radio wavelengths. The region is approximately 1,570 parsecs from Earth in the constellation of Cygnus.
PZ Cassiopeiae is a red supergiant star located in the constellation of Cassiopeia, and a semi-regular variable star.
In astronomy, a calcium-rich supernova is a subclass of supernovae that, in contrast to more well-known traditional supernova classes, are fainter and produce unusually large amounts of calcium. Since their luminosity is located in a gap between that of novae and other supernovae, they are also referred to as "gap" transients. Only around 15 events have been classified as a calcium-rich supernova – a combination of their intrinsic rarity and low luminosity make new discoveries and their subsequent study difficult. This makes calcium-rich supernovae one of the most mysterious supernova subclasses currently known.
NGC 753 is a spiral galaxy located 220 million light-years away in the constellation Andromeda. The galaxy was discovered by astronomer by Heinrich d'Arrest on September 16, 1865 and is a member of Abell 262.
NGC 4061 is an elliptical galaxy located 310 light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. It was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 27, 1785. It was rediscovered by John Herschel on April 29, 1832. It is listed both as NGC 4061 and NGC 4055. NGC 4061 is a member of the NGC 4065 Group and forms an interacting pair with its companion, NGC 4065 as evidenced by distortions in their optical isophotes.
NGC 4076 is a spiral galaxy located 290 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. The galaxy was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 27, 1785 and is a member of the NGC 4065 Group.
NGC 4302 is an edge-on spiral galaxy located about 55 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. It was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 8, 1784 and is a member of the Virgo Cluster.