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Youngest Galactic Supernova Found, But No Aliens

Posted by timothy on from the tax-paid-striptease-from-nasa dept.

Simon Howes writes "After searching for decades, astronomers have found a supernova in our galaxy! So it wasn't little green men we were waiting for. It's located very near the center of the galaxy, about 28,000 light years away, and it's only at most about 140 years old. Quote from Bad Astronomy: 'If you're wondering what all the buzz has been about the past few days over a NASA discovery, then wait no longer. No, it's not aliens or an incoming asteroid. Instead, it's still very cool: astronomers have found the youngest supernova in the Milky Way.'" FiReaNGeL contributes a link to coverage on e! Science News; I think Wired's account of the super-hyped tele-press-conference is the funniest.

7 of 184 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Doesn't make sense.... by Shagg · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Yeah, I noticed that too. The article says that it's 140 yrs old "relative to earth's time frame". I assume what they mean is that it's 28,000 + 140 years old, meaning that the light we are seeing from it started reaching us 140 years ago.

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  2. Um... by whisper_jeff · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Uh, paint me blue and call me stupid but how do you detect something that is 140 years old and 28,000 light years away? I'm sure there's some voodoo physics that makes sense there but my brain is locked on "28,000 light years means the light takes 28,000 years to get here" and having trouble figuring out how one would detect something that happened 140 years ago at that distance...

  3. Not to be picky, but... by TripMaster+Monkey · · Score: 1, Redundant
    FTFA (emphasis mine):

    Scientists using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have discovered the Milky Way's most recent supernova, which exploded a mere 140 years ago, a few years after the Civil War. ...Supernova located approximately 26,000 light years away from here.


    Now, obviously, these two statements as presented above are mutually inconsistent. It the supernova went off 140 years ago at a distance of 26,000 LY, there would be no way for us to know about it.

    Obviously, the intended meaning was that the supernova exploded around 26,140 years ago, and its light just got here 140 years ago. It's pretty shocking that NASA would make such a big deal of this, and then screw up the announcement in such a major way. Epic fail.
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  4. One More by oodaloop · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Could I please see at least 1 more post about the whole 140 years ago and 28k light years conundrum? I didn't quite get it reading the first 20 of them.

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  5. Re:Doesn't make sense.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Another supernova, that truly is only 140 years old, have been found! We just need to wait a couple thousand years to see it.

  6. Technically 28,140 years old...... by Hurricane+Floyd · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Uhhhh... wouldn't that be 28,140 years old, being as the light from a 140 year old supernova has traveled through space for 28,000 years to the point where Earthling Astronomers are observing it?

    1. Re:Technically 28,140 years old...... by Tim+C · · Score: 0, Redundant

      Yes, the supernova occurred roughly 28140 years ago. However, what we can *see* is the supernova as it was aged 140 years.

      The actual age is entirely irrelevant to us, the data we are gathering is all that matters and that is of a supernova that is 140 years old.

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