Astroalert: Astronomers discover the “supernova of a generation”, will be visible with binoculars

[bananas]

Phil Plait:

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/08/25/astroalert-type-ia-supernova-in-m101/

AstroAlert: Type Ia supernova in M101!

Attention all astronomers! There is a new Type Ia supernova that has been seen in the nearby spiral galaxy M101, and it’s very young — currently only about a day old! This is very exciting news; getting as much data on this event as possible is critical.

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August 25th, 2011 1:30 PM
by Phil Plait

Berkeley press release:

http://newscenter.lbl.gov/feature-stories/2011/08/25/supernova/

Berkeley Scientists Discover an “Instant Cosmic Classic” Supernova
Supercomputing, fast networks key to early discovery of explosion
August 25, 2011
Linda Vu [phone] [e-mail]

A supernova discovered yesterday is closer to Earth — approximately 21 million light-years away — than any other of its kind in a generation. Astronomers believe they caught the supernova within hours of its explosion, a rare feat made possible with a specialized survey telescope and state-of-the-art computational tools.

The finding of such a supernova so early and so close has energized the astronomical community as they are scrambling to observe it with as many telescopes as possible, including the Hubble Space Telescope.

Joshua Bloom, assistant professor of astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley, called it “the supernova of a generation.” Astronomers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and UC Berkeley, who made the discovery predict that it will be a target for research for the next decade, making it one of the most-studied supernova in history.

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“We caught this supernova very soon after explosion. PTF 11kly is getting brighter by the minute. It’s already 20 times brighter than it was yesterday,” said Peter Nugent, the senior scientist at Berkeley Lab who first spotted the supernova. Nugent is also an adjunct professor of astronomy at UC Berkeley. “Observing PTF 11kly unfold should be a wild ride. It is an instant cosmic classic.”

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“The best time to see this exploding star will be just after evening twilight in the Northern hemisphere in a week or so,” said Oxford’s Sullivan. “You’ll need dark skies and a good pair of binoculars, although a small telescope would be even better.”

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LA Times:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/08/new-supernova-discovered-closest-exploding-star-to-earth-in-25-years.html

New supernova is closest one to Earth in 25 years
August 26, 2011 | 3:01 pm

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Peter Nugent, the senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory who originally spotted the exploding star, told the Los Angeles Times it has been 25 years since a supernova has occurred so close to Earth and that the last one was visible only in the southern hemisphere.

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"There are going to be dozens of observatories following this," said Stan Woosley, professor of astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz. "It will probably be the most observed object in the sky."

Nugent said the supernova is getting brighter by the minute, and increasing in brightness by sixfold each night.

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If SN 2011fe does act as Nugent expects, even people without access to super-high-tech telescopes will be able to see the supernova with small 4-inch telescopes or strong binoculars in really dark skies in early September.

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[rusty fender]

1. Cool!

Can't wait to see it--thanks for posting.:bounce:

[bananas]

2. Find a star party to see this

Here's a database of places amateur astronomers gather: http://cleardarksky.com/csk/
Many of those entries have links to astronomy club websites.
Even if there's no official star party scheduled, there are often impromptu star parties when there's an astronomical event like this.

edit to add: clickable map: http://www.cleardarksky.com/csk/coverage.html