On March 16 professional astronomers and amateur observers detected the bright point of light on the outskirts of M95, a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Leo, the lion. Since then, various teams have been watching the object closely.

Based on observations from around the world, the International Astronomical Union announced on Tuesday that the light is definitely an exploded star, now called SN 2012aw.

Most supernovae are discovered in much more distant galaxies, so the explosions are not detected until they've reached close to maximum brightness, said Ulisse Munari of Italy's National Institute of Astrophysics.

(Related: "Seven Supernovae Found in Single Galaxy—A First.")