Friday, April 25, 2014

The Secret of the Super Bright Supernova

Summary, almost four years ago, astronomers found a supernova, PS1-10afx, that was 30 times brighter than any other of it's class. They didn't see any abnormalities that would account of this huge magnitude difference and were confused. However, this mystery has now been solved. Then Dr Robert Quimby and his team had an idea that proved fruitful. They looked to see if we were seeing this supernova through a gravitational lens. As it turns out, there was an entire galaxy directly in from of the supernova that was bending the light around it and magnifying it. PS1-10afx is just a normal Type 1A supernova. 

This is will be useful knowledge for measuring cosmic distances since objects of known brightness like Type 1A supernovae are a good constant against which we can measure other objects in the night sky.


BBC News
Science

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Infant Moon of Saturn

Summary: Hiding in the images of Saturn's outermost rings, a new moon is being formed. Or at least it looks like it might be a new moon. It's only a slight bump in the images but it does give hints of being a new moon. It's not inconceivable either. The rings are made up of many particles of ice and rock which can start to clump and form a new moon. While it has not been officially confirmed as the start of a new moon yet, the object has been nicknamed Peggy.

Astronomers hope that Cassini's final orbit in 2016 will be able to get higher quality images to verify if it is indeed the beginnings of a new moon. If so, we then just have to cross our fingers to see if it will survive it's infancy. If it stays within the rings, it will have a constant barrage or rocks that could break it apart while it is still forming. If it moves out beyond the rings, Peggy will have to dodge the larger moons.

Even if it does not end up becoming a fully fledged moon, it is still a great opportunity to observe the creation of a new celestial object.

BBC News