Figure 4.
The core collapse
supernova SN2015cb
discovered by Project
SUNBIRD in the luminous
infrared galaxy IRAS
17138-1017 using
near-infrared imaging
from GeMS/GSAOI.
This is one of three
supernovae studied
in a paper presenting
the first results from
this project. From left
to right, the panels
show: the initial 2013
reference image; the
2015 discovery image;
and the difference of the
two images, highlighting
SN2015cb about 2
arcseconds from the
center of this dusty, star-
forming galaxy.
extinction compared to the optical, SUN-
BIRD aims to uncover CCSNs that otherwise
would remain hidden in the dusty, crowded
star-forming regions within LIRGs. So far, in a
relatively modest amount of telescope time,
the project has discovered three CCSNs, and
one other candidate, all of which are near
the centers of intense star formation in LIRGs
(Figure 4). This represents a very high discov-
ery rate compared to previous searches. The
results indicate that the majority of CCSNs
that explode in such galaxies have been
missed as a result of dust obscuration and
inadequate image quality.
The work has been accepted for publication
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical
Society, and a preprint is available online.
John Blakeslee is the Chief Scientist at Gemini
Observatory, located at Gemini South in Chile.
He can be reached at: [email protected]
12
GeminiFocus
January 2018