Official "Science News" Thread

[ewmayer]

Brightest supernova for 57 years hits peak tonight | Mail Online

There will be a once-in-a-lifetime event in the night sky over the next few days – as a star exploding 21 million light years away becomes so bright it will be visible through binoculars across Britain. [EWM: And more generally across the entire northern hemisphere.]

The supernova is predicted to reach its brightest between September 9 and 12, and will be the brightest since 1954, visible all over Britain, weather permitting. A team of scientists at Oxford University are tracking it using the Hubble Space Telescope.

The explosion is so bright because the star is very close to Earth, cosmically speaking, in the Big Dipper constellation, Ursa Major. Most supernovae are more than 1 billion light years away.

t will appear, blueish-white, just above and to the left of the last two stars in the Big Dipper. Watchers are advised to stay away from street lights for maximum visibility.

The supernova explosion was first detected on August 24, by University of California at Berkeley scientist, Peter Nugent, using the wide angle 1.2-meter Samuel Oschin Telescope in California. It has grown brighter by the minute. Located in the Pinwheel Galaxy, it was 20 times brighter in one day.

It has been among the earliest detections of a supernova in history, and has caused huge excitement among astronomers who are tracking it using all available equipment with a view of the galaxy.

After a few days it will fade away and be visible only with a telescope until mid-October. The best way to spot it is in the hours after nightfall, by looking east of the ‘handle’ of The Plough constellation.

Supernovae of this type, classified as a 'Type 1a' event, occur when a super-dense white dwarf star, about the size of Earth but with more mass than the sun, explode. The blast hurls matter in all directions at nearly one-tenth the speed of light.

The matter from the explosion will eventually form new stars and planets. Such events, which include one in five supernovae, provide scientists with essential information on how the universe expands.

Get out your star atlas and look up M101, the "pinwheel galaxy". Since full moon is tomorrow evening (12 Sep), a few hours after sunset starting around Wednesday may be best for viewing ... the SN may be a bit past peak brightness by then, but won't be competing with the full moon.

[xilman]

Five newly discovered almost earthlike planets have been reported in http://www.eso.org/public/archives/r...4/eso1134a.pdf

Paul

[Jeff Gilchrist]

NASA Finds “Death Star” Blasting Planet With X-Rays
http://newswatch.nationalgeographic....t-with-x-rays/

[firejuggler]

gazeous planet orbiting around 2 stars
http://kepler.nasa.gov/news/nasakepl...ews&NewsID=152
Tatooine has been discovered!

[science_man_88]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/visible-onl...114306688.html

[Christenson]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/online-game...175427367.html
(computer-aided humans beat computers on protein folding; part of AIDS puzzle)

[science_man_88]

for all those that love gaming:

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/online-game...175427367.html

[Jeff Gilchrist]

This is an amazing video of the space station flying over earth, you can even see active thunderstorms:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74mhQyuyELQ

[ewmayer]

PLosOne: Fellatio by Fruit Bats Prolongs Copulation Time

"Fruit-Bat Porn". :)

The 1st, um, entry in the Acks is unwittingly funny (and no, I don't mean the obligtory 'wang' jokes):

"We thank Guangpeng Wang (Shanghai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau)"

[Jeff Gilchrist]

Particles faster than light measured
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/st...ght-speed.html

[ewmayer]

Originally Posted by Jeff Gilchrist

Particles faster than light measured
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/st...ght-speed.html

$1000 says the alleged 'result' gets explained away or remains unconfirmed. Any takers?