Supernova caught in the act!
Like (no doubt) everyone else with even the remotest interest in astronomy, I’ve just got to blog about this: in January, scientists caught a supernova actually exploding! In particular, they caught the initial burst of X-rays as the star blows itself apart, which are emitted hours or even days before the visible brightening of the star that we would normally detect.
What’s most awesome is that this was purely by chance - scientists studying a supernova in another galaxy had their telescopes pointed at just the right spot when it went off. The astronomer, Alicia Soderberg, immediately called up other telescopes around the world. Many of these ditched their planned observations (no doubt to the despair of those astronomers who had patiently waited for their turn at the scope!) and took detailed measurements. We’ve now got the most complete picture of a supernova ever - and who knows what that will lead to once all the data has been analysed!
Head over to <a “http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2008/05/21/birth-cry-of-a-supernova/”>Bad Astronomy</a> for a good overview of the whole story!