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'''PTF 11kly''' is a [[supernova]] star, discovered by the [[ Palomar Transient Factory]] (PTF) survey on the 22nd of August 2011.
The star is located in the [[Pinwheel Galaxy]] of the [[Big Dipper]], and was captured as it began to form a supernova on August the 22nd, when it was approximately 1 million times less visible than can be detected by the naked eye.
==Discovery==
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==Supernova event==
Because it is the earliest supernova event of its type to identified as it occurs, and is located only 21 [[lightyears]] from earth the PTF 11kly supernova has been described as potentially providing information on [[dark matter]], and providing clues about the nature of supernova formation. According to Peter Nugent of the Lawrence Berekely National Laboratory, it is "the youngest Type Ia ever observed".
Although it was initially very faint, at 1 million times the brightness visible to the human eye on the 22nd of August 2011, within one day of discovery (23rd) it was only 10,000 times less than visible, and the next day (24th) it was 6 times brighter again. It is expected to be visible with strong binoculars within several weeks of discovery.
Previous imaging undertaken by the Hubble Space Telescope will be used to compare it to its previous state and provide further information about the star.
==External links==
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