BVRI Photometry of SN 2011fe in M101

Abstract

We present BVRI photometry of supernova 2011fe in M101 from 2.9 to 182 days after the explosion. The light curves and color evolution show that SN 2011fe belongs to the "normal" subset of type Ia supernovae, with $\Delta m_{15}(B) = 1.21 \pm 0.03$ mag. After correcting for extinction and adopting a distance modulus of $(m - M) = 29.10$ mag to M101, we derive absolute magnitudes $M_B = -19.21$, $M_V = -19.19$, $M_R = -19.18$ and $M_I = -18.94$. We compare visual measurements of this event to our CCD photometry and find evidence for a systematic difference based on color.