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Published online 21 May 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.847
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Stellar blast watched in real time
Telescope spots supernova explosion as it unfolds.
When stars explode, they generally do it so quickly that astronomers only spy the remnants of the event. But in a rare stroke of luck, a satellite has caught the X-ray burst of a dying star as the event actually unfolded.
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What was the name of the projenitor star? Was it SN 2008D. I'm new to this. I tried to find the supernova on Microsoft Worldwide Telescope; I looked all over the Lynx constellation in optical, X-Ray and Extreem UV. I could find no Supernova. Could someone please tell me why?
Hi John: The star was not in the Milky Way, so there's no way to find it. I don't think it was catalogued prior to this event. That being said, you try looking for the galaxy where the burst occurred. It's called NGC2770, and I have no idea whether it's on the Microsoft Worldwide Telescope or not. Good luck! Geoff
Where can we see the video of this supernova? Since this is a once in a lifetime event, I would love to see it!
Hey John, Unfortunately for all of us the World Wide Telescope by Microsoft is not in real time, it is just composed of many images from ground and space based telescopes. I wish we were lucky enough to get a real time telescope with all the features of the Microsoft WWT, maybe someday.
This is very exciting, but there seems to be some confusion in the Assocated Press article reporting on this supernova event dated 22 May by Seth Borenstein. The article includes a composite impage supposedly of the supernova event with a 1985 radio image and 2007 x-ray image superimposed, showing expansion over time of the "event". However, I thought that Soderberg at Princeton caught the first release of energy from the explosion upon arrival of those x-rays at the earth's surface? What was happening with the radio wave arrival in 1985? Or is this a mistake? Thanks for any clarification you can provide!!