"William C. Keel" wrote in message news:413757c7

EDIT

Presumably as it is in another galaxy that "bright" is a relative term and
that it is beyond simple viewing equipment (bins for example)

Relative, yes, but it is the brightest in several years. Not a
binocular object unless you have some of those 125mm giants,
but it's probably still within resch of a 6-inch telescope from
most sites. Maurice Gavin even got a nice spectrum with an 8-inch
instrument. at http://home.freeuk.com/m.gavin/2004dj.htm.

Bill Keel

I've had good views of SN 2004dj through a 14.5" Starmaster on three
occasions during the past few weeks. It's one of the brightest
supernovae that I've ever observed.

Dave Mitsky