High Rate for Type IC Supernovae
Abstract
Using an automated telescope we have detected 20 supernovae in carefully documented observations of nearby galaxies. The supernova rates for late spiral (Sbc, Sc, Scd, and Sd) galaxies, normalized to a blue luminosity of 10^10^L_B_sun_ are 0.4, 1.6, and 1.1 h^2^ per 100 years for Types Ia, Ic, and II supernovae. The rate for Type Ic supernovae is significantly higher than found in previous surveys. The rates are not corrected for detection inefficiencies and do not take into account the indications that the Ic supernovae are fainter on the average than the previous estimates; therefore the true rates are probably higher. The rates are not strongly dependent on the galaxy inclination, in contradiction to previous compilations. If the Milky Way is a late spiral, then the rate of Galactic supernovae is greater than 1 per 30 +/- 7 yr, assuming h = 0.75. This high rate has encouraging consequences for future neutrino and gravitational wave observatories.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- January 1992
- DOI:
- 10.1086/186251
- Bibcode:
- 1992ApJ...384L...9M
- Keywords:
-
- Milky Way Galaxy;
- Sky Surveys (Astronomy);
- Star Distribution;
- Supernovae;
- Reflecting Telescopes;
- Stellar Luminosity;
- Astrophysics;
- GALAXIES: STELLAR CONTENT;
- STARS: STATISTICS;
- STARS: SUPERNOVAE: GENERAL;
- TELESCOPES