SN2023ixf in Messier 101: A Variable Red Supergiant as the Progenitor Candidate to a Type II Supernova

Understand

We present pre-explosion optical and infrared (IR) imaging at the site of the type II supernova (SN II) 2023ixf in Messier 101 at 6.9 Mpc.

• We astrometrically registered a ground-based image of SN 2023ixf to archival Hubble Space Telescope (HST), Spitzer Space Telescope (Spitzer), and ground-based near-IR images.
• A single point source is detected at a position consistent with the SN at wavelengths ranging from HST $R$-band to Spitzer 4.5 $\mu$m.
• Fitting to blackbody and red supergiant (RSG) spectral-energy distributions (SEDs), we find that the source is anomalously cool with a significant mid-IR excess.