High-magnification deep optical view into iPTF13iv's host environment. Pan and scroll to explore the cosmic neighborhood where this star exploded.
⚡ Quick Observer Facts & Telemetry
IAU Transients DBThe Iron Core Collapse of a Dying Supergiant
On 2013/04/05, astronomers scanning the heavens flagged a sudden, violent pinpoint of light that had flared into visibility. Designated iPTF13iv, it represents a catastrophic stellar explosion classified as a Type — supernova.
The progenitor of iPTF13iv was a mammoth supergiant star, shining with the furious vigor of an object at least 8 to 25 times more massive than our Sun. For millions of years, it synthesized heavier and heavier elements in concentric onion-like shells: hydrogen burning into helium, helium into carbon, carbon into oxygen, neon, and silicon. But when silicon fused into iron, the stellar engine ran out of fuel. Iron fusion absorbs energy rather than liberating it; within fractions of a second, the iron core collapsed under its own gravity, rebounding into an immense cosmic shockwave that blasted the star into pieces.
A Message Across Deep Cosmic Time
The light from iPTF13iv is a dispatch from an ancient past. Located approximately Millions of Light-Years away , the photons detected by telescopes today began their journey deep cosmic time.
While this burst of electromagnetic radiation traversed the cold void of intergalactic space at 299,792 kilometers per second, continents on Earth drifted, mountain ranges rose, and entire ecosystems rose and fell. To look into a telescope at iPTF13iv is to gaze directly into prehistoric cosmic time.
Incandescence of hundreds of millions of Suns
At the height of the outburst around 2013/04/04, iPTF13iv surged to a peak apparent magnitude of 19.9 . At that instant, this single dying star radiated with the collective power of approximately hundreds of millions of Suns combined, outshining whole dwarf galaxies and illuminating the surrounding interstellar medium.
The total energy released by the cataclysm was on the order of 10⁵¹ to 10⁵³ ergs. Over 99% of this energy was emitted within the first 10 seconds as a dense burst of trillions of neutrinos, with only 1% driving the visible blast wave.
The Radioactive Furnace: Why Supernovae Glow for Months
Unlike a conventional terrestrial explosion that cools and goes dark in seconds, iPTF13iv shone brightly for weeks and months. The secret behind this prolonged celestial glow is nuclear physics: the extreme heat and pressure of detonation synthesized vast quantities of radioactive Nickel-56 (⁵⁶Ni).
With a half-life of 6.075 days, Nickel-56 decays into Cobalt-56 (⁵⁶Co), emitting gamma rays and high-energy positrons that heat the expanding ejecta from within. Cobalt-56 in turn decays with a half-life of 77.2 days into stable Iron-56 (⁵⁶Fe), powering the steady exponential radioactive tail observed in the light curve.
Cosmic Kiln: Seeding the Elements of Life
Supernovae are the premier chemical foundries of our universe. iPTF13iv forged and liberated tons of newly synthesized elements: vast reservoirs of oxygen (the most abundant heavy element in living organisms), carbon, nitrogen, magnesium, and silicon.
As Carl Sagan famously observed, "We are made of star-stuff." The iron atoms that carry oxygen in human hemoglobin and the calcium in our bones were originally forged in explosions identical to iPTF13iv billions of years ago.
Galactic Setting in Ursa Major
iPTF13iv detonated inside an uncataloged host galaxy.
In our terrestrial sky, it resides in the constellation Ursa Major (The Great Bear) at Right Ascension 11:31:07.345
and Declination +53:44:50.86.
The Scientific Surveillance Campaign
Following its discovery by PTF, observatories worldwide swung their lenses toward iPTF13iv. In the Open Supernova Catalog, iPTF13iv is documented across 0 photometric measurements and 0 spectroscopic epochs. These multi-wavelength observations allow astrophysicists to model the expanding photosphere, measure shock velocities, and probe circumstellar interactions.
Stargazer's Field Guide: Can You See It Tonight?
Can I see it tonight? No — this supernova is physically extinguished.
Supernovae are brief, explosive cosmic catastrophes. They brighten over days to weeks and then permanently fade into darkness as their radioactive nickel-56 and cobalt-56 fuel decays. This explosion occurred 13.5 years ago (2013/04/04). Accounting for cosmological time dilation at redshift z = 0.0000, the rest-frame age is +4926.0 days. By standard radioactive decay templates, its optical brightness has decayed by Δm ≈ 69.5 magnitudes to an estimated magnitude 89.4, rendering the transient undetectable to all ground-based observatories.
Instrument Breakdown: At its maximum brightness in 2013/04/04, it reached magnitude 19.90 (2m–3m Research Telescope). Tonight, pointing a telescope at these coordinates will reveal only the background host galaxy.
| Instrument Class & Aperture | Sensitivity Limit | At Peak Maximum (m=19.90) | Tonight (Est. m≈89.4) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Naked Eye Dark sky site (Bortle 1–3) with no optical aid |
m ≤ 6.0 | ❌ Below limit | ❌ Below limit |
| Binoculars (50mm) Standard 7x50 or 10x50 handheld binoculars |
m ≤ 9.5 | ❌ Below limit | ❌ Below limit |
| Small Backyard Scope (4" / 100mm) Entry 4-inch (100mm) refractor / reflector |
m ≤ 12.0 | ❌ Below limit | ❌ Below limit |
| Medium Amateur Scope (8"–12") 8-inch to 12-inch Dobsonian or Schmidt-Cassegrain |
m ≤ 14.5 | ❌ Below limit | ❌ Below limit |
| Amateur CMOS Rig Cooled monochrome/color CMOS camera with multi-hour stack |
m ≤ 19.5 | ❌ Below limit | ❌ Below limit |
| 2m–3m Research Telescope University or regional observatory (e.g. Palomar 60", Calar Alto) |
m ≤ 22.0 | ✅ Detectable | ❌ Below limit |
| Giant 8m–10m Observatories Keck (10m), VLT (8.2m), Gemini, Subaru optical imaging |
m ≤ 25.0 | ✅ Detectable | ❌ Below limit |
| Space Observatories Only Hubble Space Telescope (WFC3) / JWST (NIRCam deep stack) |
m ≤ 30.0 | ✅ Detectable | ❌ Below limit |
Planetary Safety Note: Even though iPTF13iv was a titanic explosion, our planet sits safely outside the lethal 50–100 light-year kill zone. At a distance of Millions of Light-Years, the blast poses zero physical hazard to Earth's biosphere.
Cataloged supernovae closest to iPTF13iv in discovery time, spatial sky neighborhood, and cosmological lookback epoch:
❓ Frequently Asked Questions About iPTF13iv
What type of supernova is iPTF13iv and what kind of star exploded? Astrophysics & Progenitor
What was the progenitor star doing in the millions of years leading up to iPTF13iv? Astrophysics & Progenitor
How far away is iPTF13iv from Earth and how old is the light reaching us? Cosmic Distance & Time
What does the cosmological redshift of iPTF13iv tell us about the expansion of space? Cosmic Distance & Time
How bright did iPTF13iv become at its peak, and how many Suns does that equal? Explosion Energetics
How much total energy was released by iPTF13iv, and where did that energy go? Explosion Energetics
How fast are the supernova ejecta and shockwave of iPTF13iv expanding through space? Explosion Energetics
What powers the prolonged glow of iPTF13iv weeks and months after detonation? Radioactive Engine
What chemical elements did iPTF13iv create and disperse into the universe? Nucleosynthesis & Elements
Did iPTF13iv leave behind a black hole, a neutron star, or nothing at all? Cosmic Remnant
What will iPTF13iv's explosion site look like in 1,000 to 10,000 years? Cosmic Remnant
In which galaxy did iPTF13iv explode, and where is it located relative to the galactic center? Galactic Environment
Where is iPTF13iv located in the night sky and which constellation is it in? Sky Coordinates
Across which photometric filter bands was iPTF13iv monitored? Astronomical Observations
What did astronomical spectroscopy reveal about iPTF13iv's chemical makeup? Astronomical Observations
Who discovered iPTF13iv and how was it first detected? Discovery & History
How many scientific publications and observatories have contributed data to iPTF13iv? Scientific Research
What other names and survey identifiers exist for iPTF13iv? Cross-Identifications
AT2013iv. These cross-matched identifiers allow astronomers to cross-reference observations across the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), Pan-STARRS, Gaia Photometric Science Alerts, and the IAU Transient Name Server (TNS).