...he died alone and destitute...
and a thousand years later a new resort was built on the third planet orbiting Upsilon Carinae. It was called Xelansnave after that famous astronomer who was able to warn a doomed star of the impending Supa Nova nearby...
All the dolphins were able to escape to a nearby ocean...
...he died alone and destitute...
and a thousand years later a new resort was built on the third planet orbiting Upsilon Carinae. It was called Xelansnave after that famous astronomer who was able to warn a doomed star of the impending Supa Nova nearby...
All the dolphins were able to escape to a nearby ocean...
I recall in my eta post saying I just wanted to be capturing eta when it blew and just like many of my wishes it sortta came true but not exactly as I expected..
He shall thy be pronounced Sir Alex from this day forth for this remarkable and rare capture.
Congrats Alex,I agree your hard work and dedication has rewarded you amongst the coterie of novice astronomers. Hats off to you.
Thanks guys but it was afterall just a bit of luck ...its not as though I planned it ... and I would never have noticed it...and I am still colour blind ...
Alex
So is that of any help and do I get a knighthood or at least a free beer at the Astronomers Club?
alex
If it was up to me you'd get a whole slab Alex!
Thanks Alex, Richard, Andy, Andrew & Cam and Joe for putting up your images - sorry about the late reply but I haven't been online much today. Andy, I think yours misses it, thanks anyway! But the rest are good. Richard, yours from the 17th is excellent. Alex, your series is terrific as they cover a period of time before ASAS-SN recognised & announced the object. They are within the timeframe of that survey's observations though.
Just think, you imaged a new galactic nova (if it eventually proves to be that, see below!) before it was actually discovered, showing the potential of amateurs to discover these scientifically-interesting stars. And most are discovered by amateurs. Even if you didn't realise it at the time, it's gotta be worth beers and knighthoods all round doesn't it?
This 'nova' is an interesting one. The first spectroscopy was done by a professional observatory and indicated it was something strange, probably not a nova. The second lot was done by a professional astronomer but in an amateur capacity and he said it was definitely a nova. The Central Bureau of Astronomical Telegrams then issued a CBET announcing that this object was now Nova Carinae 2018.
But another professional observatory did very high-resolution spectroscopy on it and announced a few hours ago that they think it may not be a nova after all! They say there are a number of things it could be, all strange & exotic beasts!
Hmmm, wonder if it's like footy, where if an umpy says it's a goal it stays a goal, even if later on it's proved it wasn't.
Thanks Alex, Richard, Andy, Andrew & Cam and Joe for putting up your images - sorry about the late reply but I haven't been online much today. Andy, I think yours misses it, thanks anyway! But the rest are good. Richard, yours from the 17th is excellent. Alex, your series is terrific as they cover a period of time before ASAS-SN recognised & announced the object. They are within the timeframe of that survey's observations though.
Just think, you imaged a new galactic nova (if it eventually proves to be that, see below!) before it was actually discovered, showing the potential of amateurs to discover these scientifically-interesting stars. And most are discovered by amateurs. Even if you didn't realise it at the time, it's gotta be worth beers and knighthoods all round doesn't it?
This 'nova' is an interesting one. The first spectroscopy was done by a professional observatory and indicated it was something strange, probably not a nova. The second lot was done by a professional astronomer but in an amateur capacity and he said it was definitely a nova. The Central Bureau of Astronomical Telegrams then issued a CBET announcing that this object was now Nova Carinae 2018.
But another professional observatory did very high-resolution spectroscopy on it and announced a few hours ago that they think it may not be a nova after all! They say there are a number of things it could be, all strange & exotic beasts!
Hmmm, wonder if it's like footy, where if an umpy says it's a goal it stays a goal, even if later on it's proved it wasn't.
""
The lack of a strong blue continuum, that is however typical of classical nova outburst, and the low expansion velocities suggest a possible different nature for this object. The presence of many narrow absorptions also suggests a similarity with other peculiar explosions, like the luminous red variable V4332 Sgr (Martini et al. 1999), the possible luminous red novae V838 Mon and V1309 Sco (Tylenda et al. 2011, Mason et al. 2010) or the 'helium-flash' explosion observed in the Sakurai object (Duerbeck and Benetti 1996). Further spectroscopic observations are important to clarify the nature of this very interesting target.
""
Hi Rob
I was sceptical as I thought it may be some sort of joke to be honest so I never really got excited.
Its a nice thing to tell uninterested folk to see their eyes glaze over.
What are the other things it may be ... and do you know how long it will be there if its this or that.
Anyways I may embellish the story for my Dad and tell him I was the only one to discover it and that it is a previously unknown dark matter star that came from another dimention...so he will see my spending on astronomy gear as less wasteful and to make him happy his bearded Son is doing something useful.
I have many captures of stars that I took simply because they were in a convenient location suiting my sitting position for gear testing and I could not even tell you what or where but maybe I should look thru them as they are regions no one would be photographing.
So a convenient excuse ....Mmmmm sorry I cant deal with that at the moment as I am conducting a sky survey looking for dark matter stars.
Alex
Hi Rob
I was sceptical as I thought it may be some sort of joke to be honest so I never really got excited.
Its a nice thing to tell uninterested folk to see their eyes glaze over.
What are the other things it may be ... and do you know how long it will be there if its this or that.
Anyways I may embellish the story for my Dad and tell him I was the only one to discover it and that it is a previously unknown dark matter star that came from another dimention...so he will see my spending on astronomy gear as less wasteful and to make him happy his bearded Son is doing something useful.
I have many captures of stars that I took simply because they were in a convenient location suiting my sitting position for gear testing and I could not even tell you what or where but maybe I should look thru them as they are regions no one would be photographing.
So a convenient excuse ....Mmmmm sorry I cant deal with that at the moment as I am conducting a sky survey looking for dark matter stars.
Alex
Hey, never let the truth get in the way of a good story - it'll always be Alex's Nova ( = unknown dark matter star that came from another dimension) to me!
I have many captures of stars that I took simply because they were in a convenient location suiting my sitting position for gear testing and I could not even tell you what or where but maybe I should look thru them as they are regions no one would be photographing.
So a convenient excuse ....Mmmmm sorry I cant deal with that at the moment as I am conducting a sky survey looking for dark matter stars.
Alex
Yep, there's lots to be found, even for amateurs. I'm a very simple guy (ask Ken - Merlin66 ) with simple gear and not a lot of time but I regularly image Milky Way fields with a wonky second-hand 55mm lens on an entry-level DSLR using a star tracker. In an old version of Photoshop I overlay & align my shots over previous images and make the top one disappear & re-appear with the layer transparency slider and anything new will blink at you, difficult to miss! Keeps me out of the pub and keeps my mind off the bigger questions of life, the Universe and all that!
I should have had a go last night but I was so tired even the clear sky could not get me out.
I have been working hard, ser up a store room for astro storage and projects and building the cube observatory...up and down stairs with cumbersome ply paneling etc.
But I got the eight inch up so maybe it tonight. May even get both mounts running together and employ the old canon thru the eight...
Must get an afternoon nap.
Alex
Not much clear sky here ..... still, but managed to get a bit of scope time on wed night (28th). 16 x 15sec exposures at iso 1600, unmodded canon 1100d guided, 10" f4.8 newt.