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Supernova Discovered
hey! writes: "A supernova was found last Wednesday in the M74 galaxy (announcment can be found here :http://www.aavso.org/newsflash/nf904.shtml. It is not visible to the naked eye, but was discovered with at 10 inch telescope and is getting brighter -- it may be visible in amateur instruments as small as 4", according to Lew Gramer of the IAAC list. More information is available at seds.org including a very nice before and after picture."
It will be interesting to find out exactly when it took place.
IIRC, it takes about 7 minutes for the light from the sun to reach the Earth. This supernova is no doubt a long ways away (or else we would be fearing for our lives?), so it stands to reason it actually took place days, weeks, or even months ago.
It's like looking into the past.
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After performing the supernova, the star abruptly decided that its interests lay elsewhere. Fans were stunned.
right about nowwwwaaaaarrrrggghhhhhhh!!!!!!!
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if we could use this newly found phenomina to help educate thoes coming up in the world (as well as thoes already here) more about the science of the stars. Getting people interested in things like this doesn't happen to easy now-a-days, tell your friends and neighbors, get them to see it them-selves if you can.
"It's the Law of the Universe, and I'm the sheriff." Slash-cott 2/10-2/17
I would imagine it's just because it was taken with a different telescope, and/or with different settings. The galaxy next to it is smaller and in a different place, too.
My plan is to pimp before they realize I'm a jackass. Hit 'em hard and fast.
All the reports are saying that this supernova is "in M74"; but looking at the pictures, it looks to me like it's well outside. Is there some way of knowing how far away it is, in order to know if it is really part of M74?
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This promises to be one of the brightest supernova in a long time. I hope they point the hubble torwards it.
There is an excellent site that will track the progress of this supernova here
Space.com has an article about hypernova here. More detail about hypernova mechanics are here and here
If they can catch a Gamma-Ray Burst with this object, then this will be a pretty big deal.
Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
The size of the telescope, the lenses used in the objective, atmospheric conditions, the different filters used, the CCD cameras used, the length of the exposure time, all play a huge factor in how the picture looks.
Because there are so many different variables involved, it's common to see variations like this. The galaxies do not "go dim".
More on M74 here.
Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
> I hope they point the hubble torwards it.
Don't do it! This it the latest goatse trick - probably a black hole or something.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
You owe your life to supernovae, since that's the only way (known) to enrich the interstellar medium with heavy elements, like carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, etc. It's hard to imagine anything affecting your life more than that which made you possible.
I'd propose a somewhat more straightforeward explaination: the SN is bright. It probably represents more light per pixel than anywhere else in the host galaxy. So the after-image was scaled differently in brightness to allow the SN to show up, making the galaxy appear dimmer. Even if they'd used all the same equipment, this effect would kick in.
Well, if it continues to get brighter, you might be able to get out and see it with a pair of binoculars, or maybe even your bare eyes. Would it make a difference in your life?
It depends on you.
Some years ago, I got out on a cold winter morning with my girlfriend (no my wife) to see Haley's comet. It wasn't nearly as spectactular as Hyatuke, which in turn was no great shakes unless you were accustomed to looking into the skies. Did it change my life?
Well, sort of.
It didn't get me a better job, so I could buy a larger TV and Tivo. But I did get to see something my ancestors had seen, century after century, and knowing as they did not know that it connects me with them. I did see the dirty ball of ice that caused apocalyptic hysteria every 75 years in the dark ages, that raised and lowered the curtain on Mark Twain's life. To understand this thing obeys the universal laws of gravitation, Kepler's law, that in a few decades it will return to the mysterious and unexplored outer regions of the solar system, reach its apogee, and slowly turn and begin to pick up speed to come rocketing through the inner solar system. To wonder if I will be there to see its return with my children, grandchildren and great grand children (there's a small, small chance I will be alive if I live to be 99 and keep my eyesight).
People spend a huge amount of their lives to pay for the acquisition of goods that they think make a difference in their lives. Perhaps your passion is fast cars, high fidelity audio equipment, cameras or video equipment. Nobody questions these passions. My passion to see things for myself. To see the gossamer web of the M44 beehive; the struggle of an adult insect emerging from its chrsalis; the great equatorial belts of Saturn under the shadow of the rings; the chocolate brown dusty layer containing the Iridium anamoly of the K-T boundary in the Montana badlands; the shimmering of bioluminescent plankton in the summer seas; flocks of birds swooping and surfing each others wake on invisble air currents.
Does it make a difference in my life? Yes.
Would it make a difference in your life?
It depends on you.
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Someone once attempted to calculate the probability of a supernova happening close enough to the Earth, that it will cause significant damage to life.
If alpha centauri, or any star within dozens of lightyears (right over the fence in astronomical terms) went supernova, we would find ourselves suffering from a condition doctors refer to in technical jargon as being "dead. very, very dead." The earth certainly wouldn't be vaporized, but the huge amounts of radiation put out by a supernova are not exactly healthy.
Fortuneatly, stars tend to get all funky and red-giant-y before doing the thermonuclear BreakDance to end all Breakdances, so we'd probably have enough warning to build shelters. Or just cower and have an epidemic of mass insanity - either way is cool, I guess. If we don't know about it until the boom, though - well, have you ever seen "On The Beach"? The original, not the remake.
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