Tuesday, September 06, 2011

Brightest Supernova in 40 Years Observed


Astronomers are studying the nearest and brightest supernova of of a type that has not been observed for 40 years.

Discovered in the Pinwheel Galaxy, M101, a spiral galaxy a mere 21 million light years away, located in the constellation Ursa Major, better known as the big dipper.

From the article:
  • The supernova, dubbed PTF11kly, is still getting brighter, and the team's best guess is that it might even be visible with good binoculars for days.
Wiki article

Science Digest


Thanks to Dan for bringing this to my attention

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