The Wise Observatory campaign on SN 2002ap
SN 2002ap in
m74 was discovered on January 29, 2002, by Japanese
amateurs and confirmed by the Berkeley LOTOSS project. Following
its announcement in an
IAUC,
this SN has become an focus of interest in
the community. Expected to reach ~11 mag (with d~10 Mpc), it would have
become the brightest SN since 1993J, perhaps even since 1987A. On January
31, we observed this event with the FOSC. Our
spectrum showed it
to be similar to the well-known "hypernova"
1998bw,
that may have
been associated with GRB 980425. Our spectrum was one of the first
spectra of this object, and the results were published with those
of two other groups (all reaching the same conclusion) in another
IAUC.
Expecting this event to be one of the most interesting SNe of the year,
we began an observational campaign on this object including:
1) UBVRI photometry, with the best sampling possible, and
2) Weekly spectral monitoring with the FOSC, and 3) photometric time
series in V an I bands to search for variability on short (minute)
time scales. The wise director authorized minor changes in schedule to
facilitate this, with most of the observations taking place as part
of the normal Q-cam and Q-FOSC programs. T. Mazeh re-allocated the
time originally designated for the M33 variability project for the
time series observations of SN 2002ap. The campaign has terminated when
the object set, at the first week of March.
The scientific goals of this program were to obtain and publish a set
of high quality photometric and spectroscopic observations of SN 2002ap,
using the relative advantages of the Wise Observatory. These include:
frequent sampling (in both photometry and spectroscopy); high quality
spectral calibration using an in-the-slit
comparison star for
inter-calibration and near-simultaneous photometry for flux and spectral
shape calibration; and the local expertise in time series analysis.
The accumulated data set was analyzed and compared to the two
other well-studied hypernovae (SNe 1997ef and 1998bw). Below, we
provide access to a digital copy of the data.
The prompt release of the data is ment to facilitate its use by groups
working on SN simulations and by observers that may use it to plan future
observations at all wavelengths.
Observations and on-line data:
UBVRI photometry: 1/2, 2/2, 4/2, 5/2, 8/2, 16/2, 18/2, 20/2, 23/2, 1/3 (no U from here on), 2/3, 3/3, 4/3, 5/3
Spectra: 31/1, 7/2, 14/2, 21/2, 27/2
Time series: 16/2 (4 images), 18/2 (12 images), 19/2 (90 images), 20/2 (105 images), 26/2 (60 images), 28/2 (72 images)
If you have found this data useful, please reference our paper (MNRAS, accepted)
Constructed: February 2002, by: Avishay Gal-Yam , E-Mail: avishay@wise.tau.ac.il