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Amateur Astronomer Tests New Camera, Catches Birth of a Supernova

posted by Fnord666 on Thursday February 22 2018, @01:41AM   Printer-friendly
from the was-it-a-boy-or-a-girl? dept.

MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for FatPhil

An amateur astronomer has captured the birth of a supernova while trying out his new camera. Scientists believe this could be the first time anyone has photographed the initial flashing of a supernova—a phase which can last just minutes.

Researchers think the serendipitous snaps offer unique insights into the evolution of supernova, which are usually only pictured after this brief "shock breakout" phase. A new analysis of the surge of light is published in Nature this week.

[...] The discovery was monumental not just for Buso but astronomy as a whole. Researchers Melina Bersten and Gastón Folatelli, part of the team investigating the supernova in the Nature paper, told Newsweek these chance photos could be the first of their kind.

"We actually think this is the first time an observer recorded the appearance of a supernova literally on camera. Some supernova have been discovered hours after explosion. But, Victor Buso caught the exact minutes when the supernova was being born," Bersten said. Not only that, she added, but he had captured the evolution of this elusive phase.

Source: http://www.newsweek.com/supernova-birth-photograph-amateur-815041

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 2, Touché) by khallow on Thursday February 22 2018, @04:16AM (4 children)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday February 22 2018, @04:16AM (#641617) Journal

    With a bit (or a lot) of luck, everything works.

    Sure, it does. But some things need a lot more "luck" than others.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 22 2018, @06:33AM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 22 2018, @06:33AM (#641657)

    I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 22 2018, @07:36AM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 22 2018, @07:36AM (#641683)

      So,why not start digging that Hyperloop tunnel with a shovel and pickaxe to increase your chances to win the lottery?

      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by PiMuNu on Thursday February 22 2018, @09:59AM

        by PiMuNu (3823) on Thursday February 22 2018, @09:59AM (#641731)

        The luck was seeing the supernova. The hard work was knowing what he saw and realising the significance (not just an instrumental error/passing plane/etc), at least at the level to get in touch with professionals.

      • (Score: 1) by khallow on Friday February 23 2018, @12:19AM

        by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Friday February 23 2018, @12:19AM (#642107) Journal

        So,why not start digging that Hyperloop tunnel with a shovel and pickaxe to increase your chances to win the lottery?

        You're not working more to win the lottery. And you're not working more to dig that Hyperloop tunnel either.