New Supernova Seen In Nearby Galaxy M82

Posted by Unknown on Wednesday January 22, 2014 @06:15AM from the very-big-boom dept.

The Bad Astronomer writes "A new and potentially bright supernova was just discovered in the nearby galaxy M82. This is a Type Ia supernova, the catastrophic explosion of a white dwarf. It appears to be on the rise, and may have been caught as much as two weeks before peak brightness. It's currently already brighter than magnitude 12, and may get to mag 8, easy to see in small telescopes. The galaxy is less than 12 million light years away, so this may become one of the best-studied supernovae in recent times. Type Ia supernovae are used to measure dark energy, so seeing one nearby is a huge boon to astronomy."

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Re:I hope no one got hurt by ackthpt · 2014-01-22 06:23 · Score: 3, Funny

Just sayin'.....
It was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
And yes, many Bothans died to bring us this information.
It was a Trap!

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A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Re:It was on the rise... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-22 06:51 · Score: 2, Funny

Thank you, Dr. Streetmentioner.
Re:It was on the rise... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-22 07:04 · Score: 2, Funny

When will then be now?
Re:M81 and M82 by wonkey_monkey · 2014-01-22 08:04 · Score: 3, Funny

The galaxies M81 and M82 are only about 300K ly from each other. A decent telescope can image them both at the same time.
Not if you were standing between them.

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systemd is Roko's Basilisk.