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Hypernova Erupts as Global Telescopes Scramble

Posted by michael on from the sun-never-rises dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The remarkable Robotic Optical Transient Search Experiment [ROTSE] telescopes have tracked a 2 billion year old hypernova, from which an intense gamma ray burst reached earth on March 29. From Carl Akerlof, the ROTSE investigator: "The optical brightness of this gamma ray burst is about 100 times more intense than anything we've ever seen before." To underscore how the sun never rises on this automated telescope network, the observations switched rapidly from New South Wales in Australia back to Fort Davis, Texas, over a 12 hour burnout of the collapsing black hole."

20 of 201 comments (clear)

  1. a hypernova! by atlasheavy · · Score: 1, Funny

    Which kind of raises the question, why not a meganova, or a giganova?

    jeez, silly names...

    --

    iRooster, the Mac OS X a
    1. Re:a hypernova! by zokum · · Score: 3, Funny

      Just wondering, is a giganova 1024 or 1000 times stronger than a meganova :-)

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      Rest in peace Malin "looxn" Kristiansen. We miss you...
    2. Re:a hypernova! by edp · · Score: 1, Funny
      "Just wondering, is a giganova 1024 or 1000 times stronger than a meganova :-)"

      1000. A gibinova would be 1024 times stronger. See http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/binary.html.

  2. GAMMA BURST! Hitting us right now! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Hide in your basesment and get out your tinfoil hat! ...I'm glad to see many of you are already prepared.

    1. Re:GAMMA BURST! Hitting us right now! by kiggs · · Score: 4, Funny

      Now this is what I call SHOCK and AWE! not that tiny stuff using puny little bombs. This is the mother of all explosions!

  3. Too bad.... by tankdilla · · Score: 5, Funny

    And it was just about to retire the next day. 2 billion years of loyal service as a hypernova, and it erupts just like that.
    Quoted a co-worker, "It's what we call in the nova business retirony."

    --

    -Look lively. LOOK LIVELY!!! --Mr. Shmallow

  4. Good point by Mattygfunk1 · · Score: 4, Funny
    In astronomy circles - black holes are considered interplanetary BSODs.

    _________
    cheap web site hosting - now with extra donuts.

  5. Old News. by Boss,+Pointy+Haired · · Score: 4, Funny

    This happened 2 Billion years ago.

    Slow news day?

  6. Can you get my back? by mcmonkey · · Score: 3, Funny
    "During the first minute after the explosion it emitted energy at a rate more than a million times the combined output of all the stars in the Milky Way. If you concentrated all the energy that the sun will put out over its entire 9 billion-year life into a tenth of a second, then you would have some idea of the brightness," said Michael Ashley, faculty member in the astrophysics and optics department at the University of New South Wales and a member of the ROTSE team.
    George Hamilton rated it an SPF 31 event.
  7. I'll Get The Ball Rolling by DarkZero · · Score: 5, Funny

    From Carl Akerlof, the ROTSE investigator: "The optical brightness of this gamma ray burst is about 100 times more intense than anything we've ever seen before."

    And five minutes later, after someone accidentally spilled coffee on Dr. Akerlof, angering him, he was quoted as saying... wait for it... wait for it... all together now...

    HULK SMASH!!!

    Let the painfully immature gamma ray jokes begin.

  8. Well... keep fingers crossed by KDan · · Score: 4, Funny

    Let's just hope we don't get one of these anywhere much closer than this, cause otherwise everyone will have a really good sun tan very fast!

    Daniel

    --
    Carpe Diem
    1. Re:Well... keep fingers crossed by justin_saunders · · Score: 1, Funny

      Don't worry, do like Bert the Turtle - "Duck and Cover!".

      --

      "My cat's breath smells like cat food." - The Tao of Ralph Wiggum.
  9. Choice of names... by TheMidget · · Score: 4, Funny
    With two telescopes separated by about 110 degrees longitude, the Robotic Optical Transient Search Experiment (ROTSE) will have one of the most continuous records of this explosion.

    Fortunately, they didn't call their telescope network the Global Optical Automatic Transient Search Experiment, whose headquarter are in the Christmas Islands.

  10. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... by irw · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Two billion years ago, in a far-away galaxy, a giant star exploded."

    The death of star. Death Star.

    I predict they might be seeing a second one of these explosions any time soon...

  11. Re:Ananova! by Mac+Degger · · Score: 2, Funny

    I can't wait until they see a Kournikova :)

    --
    -- Waht? Tehr's a preveiw buottn?
  12. ROTSE by TheOnlyCoolTim · · Score: 1, Funny

    Is the quoted speaker the Rotse man? Rotse.cx?

    Tim

    --
    Omnia vestra castrorum habetur nobis.
  13. New Telescope? by xXunderdogXx · · Score: 2, Funny

    So they used the new ROTSE telescope. Has anyone heard of the GOATSE telescope? Yeah it's exclusively used for peering into massive black holes.

  14. I swear... by imrec · · Score: 4, Funny

    Rotse. I swear every and any word/acronym/setofcharacters containing o*tse or some form of it has, in my mind, been ruined forever. My first day at slashdot will continue haunt me to the end of my days.

    Thank you.

    --
    Note: This sig contains nine S's, nine I's and five O's which... means absolutely nothing.
  15. Doc Bruce Banner, belted by gamma rays ... by Conspir8or · · Score: 2, Funny

    I don't care about cancer ... does this increase my chances of getting superpowers? Then I'd just have to find a tailor who can provide rip-proof purple pants ....

  16. In other news... by deitrahs · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...SETI@home reports that they've finally gotten an intelligible signal from that area of the sky. The message came in just before the nova.

    After decoding, it said, "Hey, Zborno, what's this button do?"