Photo from NASA/ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team
A few weeks ago, students at the University College London were learning to use their university’s telescope when they stumbled upon a pretty amazing discovery — the closest supernova we’ve seen in 20 years.
Supernovas are ultra high-energy star explosions that are visible for a few weeks before they burn out. This supernova is located in galaxy M82. We haven’t had a supernova in our own galaxy since 1604, when Kepler last observed one.
You can’t see the M82 supernova with your naked eye, but a small telescope or even very impressive binoculars would do the job. It’s located about a “fist” above the big dipper when viewing it from the northern hemisphere, according to Universe Today. Directly to the right of M82 is galaxy M81, which looks more circular, while M82 looks like more of a line.
Some astronomers believe M82’s supernova will be the most-observed supernova of modern times, so be sure to catch it before it fades away.
One of the coolest things about this supernova is that it wasn’t found by professional astronomers — it was discovered by undergraduate students, which many of this blog’s readers probably are too. Big discoveries like these may seem like they have to come from scientists, but, as this proved, anyone with an interest and a telescope can make them too.
There are plenty of opportunities for students looking to make their own discoveries both on and off campus, and online. Just down the road from campus is the University Observatory, which has frequent open houses where you can listen to a lecture and get a chance to look through their telescopes. (The Observatory is even having an open house tomorrow, February 20!)
If leaving your dorm isn’t for you — and it’s not for all of us — check out Zooniverse. It’s a “citizen science project” where you can sign up to look for planets around stars or compare data to find black holes. The site is totally user-friendly, and citizen scientists have made tons of discoveries using it.
Our university is located in a place where astronomical interest runs high. With Goddard Spaceflight Center just down the road and the NASA Headquarters in D.C., it’s easy to believe that all the space discoveries we read about are coming from pro astronomers. However, if you’re interested and willing to look, it may be you they’re naming the next huge supernova after.
