Sloan green and red photometry of the Type Ia supernova 2024neh

Supernovae play a key role in understanding stellar evolution and cosmic distances. Type Ia supernovae, the thermonuclear explosions of white dwarfs in binary systems, can help measure the expansion of the universe. Type Ia supernovae can be classified by their light curve, which displays a rapid rise to peak magnitude followed by a gradual decline. Based on observations conducted at the Sierra Remote Observatory and the Leitner Family Observatory and Planetarium, we present an early analysis of extragalactic supernova (SN) 2024neh. The Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) discovered SN 2024neh on June 30th, 2024, with a discovery magnitude of 19.4398 in the Sloan green (g) filter. Based on this information, we hypothesized that SN 2024neh is a Type Ia supernova. To test this hypothesis, we conducted aperture photometry on our time series data in the Sloan g and Sloan red (r) bands. Then, we applied least squares linear regression and chisquared minimization on the Julian day and distance modulus to analyze the apparent magnitude of SN 2024neh. Additionally, we used model fitting on the light curve to estimate the date of peak magnitude of SN 2024neh to be Julian Date 2460510.5 and report an estimated distance modulus of 35.7 ± 0.1466 in the Sloan g filter. We calculated that SN 2024neh was 138 ± 9.319 megaparsecs (Mpc) from Earth. Since this distance is farther than its host galaxy UGC 9696, which is approximately 107.23 Mpc from Earth, we conclude that SN 2024neh is located in the background of its galaxy. Through model fitting, the light curve shape is consistent with that of a Type Ia supernova, so our findings support SN 2024neh being a Type Ia supernova. Our findings contribute to the broader catalog of Type Ia supernovae, supporting the development of more accurate supernova evolution models, a critical tool in measuring cosmic expansion.