A BRIGHT SUPERNOVA IN THE NEARBY GALAXY NGC 2403 (STScI-PRC04-23)

FOR RELEASE: 9:00 am (EDT) September 2, 2004

PHOTO NO.: STScI-PRC04-23


A BRIGHT SUPERNOVA IN THE NEARBY GALAXY NGC 2403

The explosion of a massive star blazes with the light of 200 million
Suns in this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image. The arrow at top right
points to the stellar blast, called a supernova. The supernova is so
bright in this image that it easily could be mistaken for a foreground
star in our Milky Way Galaxy. And yet, this supernova, called SN 2004dj,
resides far beyond our galaxy. Its home is in the outskirts of NGC 2403,
a galaxy located 11 million light-years from Earth. Although the
supernova is far from Earth, it is the closest stellar explosion
discovered in more than a decade. This image was taken on Aug. 17, two
weeks after an amateur astronomer discovered the supernova.

Credit: NASA, ESA, A.V. Filippenko (University of California, Berkeley),
P. Challis (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), et al.

To see and read more, please visit:
http://hubblesite.org/news/2004/23

The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) is operated by the
Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA), for
NASA, under contract with the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt,
MD. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation
between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).

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"INBOX ASTRONOMY: NEWS ALERT" wrote in message
...
FOR RELEASE: 9:00 am (EDT) September 2, 2004

PHOTO NO.: STScI-PRC04-23


A BRIGHT SUPERNOVA IN THE NEARBY GALAXY NGC 2403


Presumably as it is in another galaxy that "bright" is a relative term and
that it is beyond simple viewing equipment (bins for example)

Henry wrote:
"INBOX ASTRONOMY: NEWS ALERT" wrote in message
...
FOR RELEASE: 9:00 am (EDT) September 2, 2004

PHOTO NO.: STScI-PRC04-23


A BRIGHT SUPERNOVA IN THE NEARBY GALAXY NGC 2403


Presumably as it is in another galaxy that "bright" is a relative term and
that it is beyond simple viewing equipment (bins for example)

Relative, yes, but it is the brightest in several years. Not a
binocular object unless you have some of those 125mm giants,
but it's probably still within resch of a 6-inch telescope from
most sites. Maurice Gavin even got a nice spectrum with an 8-inch
instrument. at http://home.freeuk.com/m.gavin/2004dj.htm.

Bill Keel

Check this out:

" And yet, this supernova, called SN 2004dj,
resides far beyond our galaxy. Its home is in the outskirts of NGC 2403,
a galaxy located 11 million light-years from Earth. Although the
supernova is far from Earth, it is the closest stellar explosion
discovered in more than a decade. This image was taken on Aug. 17, two
weeks after an amateur astronomer discovered the supernova.
"

So, who discovered this supernova???

jon

William C. Keel wrote:

Henry wrote:

"INBOX ASTRONOMY: NEWS ALERT" wrote in message
...

FOR RELEASE: 9:00 am (EDT) September 2, 2004

PHOTO NO.: STScI-PRC04-23


A BRIGHT SUPERNOVA IN THE NEARBY GALAXY NGC 2403



Presumably as it is in another galaxy that "bright" is a relative term and
that it is beyond simple viewing equipment (bins for example)


Relative, yes, but it is the brightest in several years. Not a
binocular object unless you have some of those 125mm giants,
but it's probably still within resch of a 6-inch telescope from
most sites. Maurice Gavin even got a nice spectrum with an 8-inch
instrument. at http://home.freeuk.com/m.gavin/2004dj.htm.

Bill Keel

Yes, it was easy target in 8" about a month ago. I guess it would
be accessible to 4" too from a good site and with some care.

What I don't understand is why old information like this goes out
as a "NEWS ALERT" (even in capital letters). That's OK, but it got
me for a second: "Ah, another bright one!", and I was a bit
disappointed when I figured it out...

- Alex

Alexander Avtanski wrote:

What I don't understand is why old information like this goes out
as a "NEWS ALERT" (even in capital letters). That's OK, but it got
me for a second: "Ah, another bright one!", and I was a bit
disappointed when I figured it out...


A couple of weeks ago a (non-astronomer)friend emailed me the news of
the close approach of Mars in August. He was chagrined when I told him
he was almost exactly a year late :-)

Phil

Different people have posted:

Presumably as it is in another galaxy that "bright" is a relative term and
that it is beyond simple viewing equipment (bins for example)


Relative, yes, but it is the brightest in several years. Not a
binocular object unless you have some of those 125mm giants,
but it's probably still within resch of a 6-inch telescope from
most sites. Maurice Gavin even got a nice spectrum with an 8-inch
instrument. at http://home.freeuk.com/m.gavin/2004dj.htm.


Yes, it was easy target in 8" about a month ago. I guess it would
be accessible to 4" too from a good site and with some care.

If memory serves me well, not too long ago I read that the supernova had a
magnitude of around 11 or so which shouldn't make it that tough even for
the more modest of amateur scopes given dark skies and good seeing.


--
Martin
"Photographs From the Universe of Amateur Astronomy"
http://home.earthlink.net/~martinhowell

Alexander Avtanski wrote:


William C. Keel wrote:

Henry wrote:

....snip...

Presumably as it is in another galaxy that "bright" is a relative term and
that it is beyond simple viewing equipment (bins for example)


Relative, yes, but it is the brightest in several years. Not a
binocular object unless you have some of those 125mm giants,
but it's probably still within resch of a 6-inch telescope from
most sites. Maurice Gavin even got a nice spectrum with an 8-inch
instrument. at http://home.freeuk.com/m.gavin/2004dj.htm.

Bill Keel

Yes, it was easy target in 8" about a month ago. I guess it would
be accessible to 4" too from a good site and with some care.

What I don't understand is why old information like this goes out
as a "NEWS ALERT" (even in capital letters). That's OK, but it got
me for a second: "Ah, another bright one!", and I was a bit
disappointed when I figured it out...

- Alex

I gather the "news" was release of the picture - all the Hubble "inbox"
press release are headed the same way. I happened to be at
Kitt Peak a few weeks back and took a few spectra for Alex Filippenko.
A 30-second exposure took H-alpha to the guaranteed-linear bright
limit of the detector... and Maurice Gavin's site pointed to
the most useful ID chart I could find.

Bill Keel

"Phil Wheeler" wrote in message
...


Alexander Avtanski wrote:

What I don't understand is why old information like this goes out
as a "NEWS ALERT" (even in capital letters). That's OK, but it got
me for a second: "Ah, another bright one!", and I was a bit
disappointed when I figured it out...


A couple of weeks ago a (non-astronomer)friend emailed me the news of
the close approach of Mars in August. He was chagrined when I told him
he was almost exactly a year late :-)

Phil

My sister called me Monday wanting to confirm something about Mars. She
told me what her her hair dresser told her - the same thing your friend did.
Maybe there's something going round on a web site or forum somewhere(?).
--
Michael A. Barlow

Wonderous indeed. 11 million yeras ago a dazzling behemoth was at the end
of it's stellar life thus
shedding it's skin and feeding the universe once again.