Every astronomer's dream came true for Open University astronomy student Stefan Holmes, when a rare and dramatic star explosion happened on the night he was observing the skies.
Stefan, a PhD student, captured an image of the 'Type 1a' supernova as it appeared only four hours after the explosion, using the Open University's robotic astronomical telescope, PIRATE.
The supernova, which occurred 20 million light-years away in the spiral galaxy M101, (see PIRATE image below) was the closest explosion of its type observed for decades, and the first to be available for detailed investigations with modern-day astronomical detectors.
“This is a great advancement," said Dr Ulrich Kolb, OU Senior Lecturer and Director of the PIRATE facility."The spectral appearance of type Ia supernovae have long suggested exploding white dwarfs as the culprits responsible for the explosion, but this new research is effectively proof of their white dwarf nature.
“It demonstrates the capabilities of small- to medium-aperture telescopes to contribute to world-leading research.”
Stefan, who is among the team conducting the PIRATE research programme, said: “It was great to have been able to capture this image and be part of such an exciting outcome. It was a case of being at the right place at the right time."
The international team's finding is the subject of an article in the January 10 issue of the Astrophysical Journal Letters series (2012, ApJ, Issue 744, L17) and has been presented this week at the meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Austin, Texas.
For more information see OU news release.
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Comments
Amazing, I have a question though as I'm trying to understand more about light-years. If the explosion occurred 20 million light-years away how can it be said that it was seen just 4 hours after the event? Wouldn't it take longer than 4 hours for the light from the explosion to reach telescopes on earth?
Thank you
(forgive me if it's a silly question)
The time we saw the light from this explosion was not the actual time of the explosion itself, but when the light from this distant object reached the telescope.
From the image it is estimated the star explosion was 4 hours old. If there was a clock that was present at the light source when a beam of light was emitted and compared it with a clock here on Earth then the light was received, there what be a difference of approximately 20 million years (being the time that it has taken that beam of light to travel through space and reach us).
Relativity is an interesting subject to look at when considering when events occur in space and the methods used to estimate distance.
Thanks for the reply. Yes I understand a bit better now after reading your reply, I will be looking into relativity also.