Youngest Galactic Supernova Found, But No Aliens 184
Simon Howes writes "After searching for decades, astronomers have found a supernova in our galaxy! So it wasn't little green men we were waiting for. It's located very near the center of the galaxy, about 28,000 light years away, and it's only at most about 140 years old. Quote from Bad Astronomy: 'If you're wondering what all the buzz has been about the past few days over a NASA discovery, then wait no longer. No, it's not aliens or an incoming asteroid. Instead, it's still very cool: astronomers have found the youngest supernova in the Milky Way.'" FiReaNGeL contributes a link to coverage on e! Science News; I think Wired's account of the super-hyped tele-press-conference is the funniest.
Re:Doesn't make sense.... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Doesn't make sense.... (Score:3, Informative)
This makes the original explosion the most recent supernova in the Galaxy, as measured in Earth's time-frame (referring to when events are observable at Earth).
Re:distance vs age? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Um... (Score:3, Informative)
FTA "As measured in Earth's time frame" (Score:5, Informative)
What that statement means is from the observational perspective of the earth. If it is a 1000 light years away, and we see the event here and now, then it occurred now "as measured in Earth's Time Frame" but actually from the distance, we know the event occurred a 1000 years ago.
NASA Is Wrong - Crab Nebula Is "Younger" (Score:4, Informative)
Re:NASA Is Wrong - Crab Nebula Is "Younger" (Score:5, Informative)
Re:140 Years old (Score:1, Informative)
Re:140 Years old (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Doesn't make sense.... (Score:2, Informative)
In astrophysics, you generally speak as if something doesn't happen until the light cone hits you. It's a lot more convenient that way.
Re:It's easy to detect things faster than TSOL (Score:1, Informative)