The arrow points to the new bright type Ia Supernova (SN 2006X) in M100 Spiral Galaxy in Coma Berenices. The Supernova 2006X in this 51-minute exposure taken on 02/12/06 is at 14.5 magnitude, it’s on the rise up from 17th mag at discovery on 02/04/06 and is expected to reach 11.5 magnitude. M100 is a Mag 10.2 Sc type Spiral Galaxy in Coma Berenices. It is approximately 7.5′ x 6.4 arc minutes in size. M100 Galaxy is estimated to be about 110,000 Light years across.M100’s distance is approximately 56 Million Light years away. There are two other galaxies visible in the field of view which are NGC-4322 – bottom and NGC-4328 – right.
Click for the DIRAS Observatory Team page: John Chumack, RAS Observatory – DIRAS Team Leader
Click for the Press release: PR WEB- RAS Press Release