What is Digg?Sponsored by newegg
Ready. Set. Shop view!
newegg.com - Newegg.com Black Friday Sale starting 11/25 3PM PST. No Lines, No Crowds, Click and Save.
23 Comments
- ThatGeek, on 11/09/2009, -1/+28space is ***** awesome... that is all
- homer524, on 11/09/2009, -0/+13Supernova? How can we be sure this isn't the result of some sort of interstellar war. Be vigilant... they are coming here next.
(lizard people I mean... lizard people.) - SpazAttack5000, on 11/09/2009, -6/+19This was news somewhere else 160 million years ago. I'm sure Reddit had this article then...... :-/
- Unikraken, on 11/09/2009, -0/+8The universe is much more interesting and beautiful than the simple bronze age stories make it out to be!
- TSK05, on 11/09/2009, -0/+7"Astronomers classify supernovae as one of two basic types. Type 1 supernovae involve white dwarfs that explode after accreting, or gathering, material from companion stars in binary systems. Eventually when they build up enough mass, they explode as a supernova. Because type 1 supernovae usually explode at a set size, they're called standard candles and are used to gauge cosmic distance. Type 2 supernovae occur when massive stars 10 to 20 times larger than the Sun explode after running out of fuel."
Holy totally wrong information alert! Jebus. Type 1b and 1c supernova are most similar to type 2 supernova (the naming thing is only due to historical reasons). Only type 1a is a white dwarf and a standard candle.
That said, I guess I should read Science and not this terrible article..
The most interesting part is this,
"He says it raises questions as to whether type 1 supernovae are still useful as standard candles to measure cosmic distance."
Yeah, damn near every observation we make raises that question, which is extremely important. If this can shed evidence either way, great! - Dominoooo, on 11/09/2009, -1/+7Space never ceases to amaze me. There's so much cool stuff out there we won't know about for thousands (or millions) of years, provided we make it that far.
- soonerdude711, on 11/09/2009, -0/+5I'd hit it with SN 2002bj...
- Propethic, on 11/09/2009, -0/+3Yup, the best part is that you're looking in the past, right now that supernova could have turned into a trillion teddy bears and we wouldn't know until light bounces off of it and reaches earth
- desertDenizen, on 11/09/2009, -0/+2But He did it... IN THE DARK!
- macmcraeart, on 11/09/2009, -0/+2far is the key word. our life is too short and space is far too big.
- MWeather, on 11/09/2009, -0/+1I propose changing Uranus's name to put an end to that joke once and for all. Let's call it Urectum instead.
- TSK05, on 11/09/2009, -0/+1Well, they think it came from a white dwarf and a white dwarf can either nova or supernova only when accreting mass from another star so that's what it's demonstrating.
- mikebritton, on 11/09/2009, -0/+1The scale is way off, no? It looks like a galaxy is emitting something.
- desertDenizen, on 11/09/2009, -0/+1Yes, the assumption of a standard candle always seemed a little "assume a can opener"ish. Without it, seems like a lot of our current understanding of the universe is on shaky ground, no? (Its size, rate of expansion, eventual fate, and the whole % of dark matter plug-figure?)
As the extent of my astronomical knowledge is scarcely more than knowing which tunes in Cosmos are performed by Vangelis, I've just gone on faith that astronomers were pretty certain about their standard candle. Now I'm all, "psshh... c'mon guys! Do we know this or not?"
Unless I'm totally misunderstanding this, in which case, would love to understand if anyone wants to explain it better than the article did. - macmcraeart, on 11/09/2009, -1/+2mash was ***** awesome... that is all.
- OverDriven, on 11/09/2009, -2/+2Wow...what are you...10 years old?
- mikebritton, on 11/09/2009, -1/+1What a disappointing illustration.
- CrimsonFlash, on 11/09/2009, -2/+1A champagne supernova?
- SpazAttack5000, on 11/09/2009, -3/+2Kidding! Don't banish me!
- FattyMagee, on 11/09/2009, -2/+0Middle Nova Syndrome. Poor little guy, his parents probably never paid any attention to him his whole life till he went boom.
- JediCorran, on 11/09/2009, -3/+1it's made of champagne.
- istoner, on 11/09/2009, -5/+1You mean apart from champagne?
- alvarezx00, on 11/09/2009, -11/+3if anyone is interested in finding the location of this supernova, check right next to Uranus.
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is