osoab
1st September 2011, 08:29 PM
How to see a nearby supernova this weekend! (http://earthsky.org/space/how-to-see-a-nearby-supernova-this-weekend)
This weekend, beginning around September 3 or 4, 2011, you’ll have an opportunity to witness what the ancients might have thought was a “new” star – a star that pops into view suddenly where no star was before. We today know it as an exploding star, or supernova. You will probably need binoculars to see the supernova … but still. It’ll be cool. Berkeley Lab’s Peter Nugent explains.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJIaC7DU0mw&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJIaC7DU0mw&feature=player_embedded
Here’s a lucky break. The supernova is located near the familiar Big Dipper pattern in our skies. At this time of year, the Big Dipper can be found in the northwest in the hours after sunset. Don’t wait too late at night, or these stars will have set below your northwestern horizon. The Big Dipper consists of seven fairly bright stars in a dipper pattern. The video explains how to find the supernova, using the Big Dipper as a guide.
A tip from veteran skywatchers: despite headlines that say “see it from your backyard,” don’t. Pack up a picnic supper and head out to the country to see it. You’ll enjoy the view so much more.
http://earthsky.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/supernova_2011_big_dipper.jpg
The supernova will be just off the handle of the familiar Big Dipper star pattern. Look for the Dipper in the northwest after sunset.
Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California, Berkeley caught the supernova just hours after its explosion, a rare feat made possible with an automatic survey telescope and state-of-the-art computational tools. The brightness of this Type 1a supernova has been steadily increasing since the telescope first caught sight of it on August 24, 2011. It might be visible with binoculars this weekend, these astronomers say.
Astronomers believe it may become the brightest Type 1a supernova of the last 30 years. And you can see it!
This supernova is a mere 21 million light-years away from Earth, a relatively small distance by astronomical standards. Still, we earthlings will probably need binoculars to be able to see it over the next few weeks.
So … check it out! And have fun. Let us know if you see it.
This weekend, beginning around September 3 or 4, 2011, you’ll have an opportunity to witness what the ancients might have thought was a “new” star – a star that pops into view suddenly where no star was before. We today know it as an exploding star, or supernova. You will probably need binoculars to see the supernova … but still. It’ll be cool. Berkeley Lab’s Peter Nugent explains.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJIaC7DU0mw&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJIaC7DU0mw&feature=player_embedded
Here’s a lucky break. The supernova is located near the familiar Big Dipper pattern in our skies. At this time of year, the Big Dipper can be found in the northwest in the hours after sunset. Don’t wait too late at night, or these stars will have set below your northwestern horizon. The Big Dipper consists of seven fairly bright stars in a dipper pattern. The video explains how to find the supernova, using the Big Dipper as a guide.
A tip from veteran skywatchers: despite headlines that say “see it from your backyard,” don’t. Pack up a picnic supper and head out to the country to see it. You’ll enjoy the view so much more.
http://earthsky.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/supernova_2011_big_dipper.jpg
The supernova will be just off the handle of the familiar Big Dipper star pattern. Look for the Dipper in the northwest after sunset.
Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California, Berkeley caught the supernova just hours after its explosion, a rare feat made possible with an automatic survey telescope and state-of-the-art computational tools. The brightness of this Type 1a supernova has been steadily increasing since the telescope first caught sight of it on August 24, 2011. It might be visible with binoculars this weekend, these astronomers say.
Astronomers believe it may become the brightest Type 1a supernova of the last 30 years. And you can see it!
This supernova is a mere 21 million light-years away from Earth, a relatively small distance by astronomical standards. Still, we earthlings will probably need binoculars to be able to see it over the next few weeks.
So … check it out! And have fun. Let us know if you see it.