Photometry of type IIn SN 2008am

SN 2008am peaked at approximately -22.3mag at a redshift of z=0.2338, giving it a peak luminosity of ~3x10^44^erg/s and making it one of the most luminous supernovae ever observed. The host galaxy appears to be an SB1 of normal luminosity (M_r'_~-20) with metallicity Z~0.4Z_{sun}_.

ROTSE upper limits and detections constrain the rise time to be ~34 days in the rest frame, significantly shorter than similar events, SN 2006gy and SN 2006tf. Photometric observations in the ultraviolet, optical, and infrared bands (J, H, Ks) constrain the spectral energy distribution evolution. We obtained six optical spectra of the supernova, five on the early decline from maximum light and a sixth nearly a year later plus a very late time spectrum (~2yr) of the host galaxy.