Quote:
Originally Posted by Colonel Flagg
Sorry for the bump, but this is really cool stuff.
The gist is that this supernova was caught nearly at the point of explosion, which is extremely improbable. This being said, astronomers can now study the "unexploded bits" of the star that get ejected first, before the star really gets big and bright. This has never been done before, nor have we as a society ever had the tools to do it properly, as we do now (Hubble, Keck, etc.). They are expecting the star to be visible with a good pair of binoculars (and a dark sky, naturally) in about a week. An increase in brightness of about 4-5 magnitudes. |
That is pretty cool actually, and extremely improbable doesn't cover it. You have to be looking in the exact right place at the exact right time. It would be like if you won the powerball, and then were qualified to enter a second powerball with all the other winners ever, and then won that powerball as well, and then a meteor hit you.