Is it possible to see a Super nova

[caleb]

I have heard someone did once and they are known to be the only one in history. So if they were more common could I see one with my telescope - in my signiature.
Also, if one is going to happen what star do you think is next.
And what is your experience on this.
Also, i'm not some masive noob, im just thinking about the possibilites.

[Outbackmanyep]

I think Eta Carina is the next best possibility in our vicinity, it would be well documented if it went bang tomorrow!!!!, although SN can happen just about anywhere, your best bet would be to try routine galaxy (other than our own) SN search.
Trouble is, i wouldn't hold my breath waiting for any particular star to go off! Im not sure if there are candidates in the northern hemisphere, but in the south i think Eta Carina is the best known.

hope this helps!

[badchap]

Naked eye ?

I think the last supervnova visible to the naked eye was 1987A - in 1987, in the neighbouring Large Magellanic Cloud. Plenty of people must surely have seen that one. (I didn't)

[Rob_K]

Hi Caleb, yes, many supernova events are visible in backyard telescopes. As far as spectacular Milky Way events go, it’s been a long time between drinks and we’re probably way overdue, LOL! Here is a link to historical Milky Way supernovae:
https://seds.org/messier/more/mw_sn.html

However, the abundant galaxies we can see through our scopes are a rich source of supernova sightings. An updated list is maintained at:
http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/iau/lists/RecentSupernovae.html

In late March 2008 for instance, there was a mag 12.6 supernova in NGC 7793, easily within reach of many of our telescopes. Many are really faint though (given the huge distances away), but keep an eye on this list and you might just get an opportunity to see one yourself.


Cheers -

[Ric]

Hi caleb, if your interested in SN searchs this site has some good info for getting started. It's fascinating stuff once you get started.


http://www.aavso.org/observing/programs/sn/

Cheers

[Stevo69]

Yes I remember SN 1987A very well. I am sure there are more members out there who did and will correct me on some of the facts and figures I mention here, as I am going by memory! I still have all the 'Astronomy' and 'Sky & Telescope' magazines from 1987 featuring it somewhere in a box.

It was visible to the naked eye (mag 3-3.5 from memory) and was visible from late February 1987, observed extensively by professionals and amateurs all around the world for months.

I think a naked eye SN is reasonably rare, 1987A unique because of its relatively close distance to us. And it was a bonus because it was so far south. I remember observing it for months and going though lots of film on the trusty Olympus OM-1.

Remember Caleb, SN1987A, for example, is approximately 180,000 light years away from us, so the explosion actually occurred 180,000 years ago (Earth-time).

[caleb]

Originally Posted by Stevo69

Yes I remember SN 1987A very well. I am sure there are more members out there who did and will correct me on some of the facts and figures I mention here, as I am going by memory! I still have all the 'Astronomy' and 'Sky & Telescope' magazines from 1987 featuring it somewhere in a box.

It was visible to the naked eye (mag 3-3.5 from memory) and was visible from late February 1987, observed extensively by professionals and amateurs all around the world for months.

I think a naked eye SN is reasonably rare, 1987A unique because of its relatively close distance to us. And it was a bonus because it was so far south. I remember observing it for months and going though lots of film on the trusty Olympus OM-1.

Remember Caleb, SN1987A, for example, is approximately 180,000 light years away from us, so the explosion actually occurred 180,000 years ago (Earth-time).

that 'back to the future' stuff is wierd, it will be wierd when the birth of the universe will be visible. Maybe if 'God' is real they will see him.

[OneOfOne (Trevor)]

If you can wait anywhere between tomorrow and the next couple of thousand years Eta will surely be a reall humm dinger! I hope I am around to see it go off, but it is pretty close so you may need your sunglasses

[bindibadgi]

We should start to market some Eta glasses now, so the general public can be prepared!

[caleb]

any i can see ATM, or how can i find our when they are.theres another post about them and they seem to last a while or so, not a few mins as iv been told.

[Ric]

Hi Caleb, you might want to try this site for Northern & Southern hemisphere SN. Most times there is a small image so you can see where it is in relation to the galaxy.

http://www.supernovae.net/isn.htm

Cheers

[bird (Anthony Wesley)]

Originally Posted by badchap

Naked eye ?

I think the last supervnova visible to the naked eye was 1987A - in 1987, in the neighbouring Large Magellanic Cloud. Plenty of people must surely have seen that one. (I didn't)

Yep, saw that one, not particularly bright to the naked eye, but then it was a rather long way off :-)

cheers, Bird

[ngcles]

Hi Caleb & All,

I remember 1987A pretty well too and it topped out at about mag +2.8 I seem to recall -- it was an amazing sight.

If you want to do some supernova searching I think that's great -- but using the telescope you have at the moment, your limiting magnitude (faintest star you can see) is about 12th magnitude so you will have to restrict yourself to nearby galaxies -- perhaps the nearest 25-odd galaxies to the Milky Way. Any further than this and it will be too faint to see in your 'scope

As to "which star will go supernova next"? No one knows the answer but we can make some educated guesses. Astronomers often tend with good reason to think of Betelgeuse or Antares or Eta Carinae as a possible answers for the above question, but there is also good reason to think that a star with the decidedly unromantic appellation of Sher 25, might well be the next Milky Way star to let go.

This interesting candidate star was bought to my attention via the Bad Astronomer Phil Plait and badastronomy.com. Sher 25 is an evolved spectral class B1-Ia blue supergiant star > than 40 solar-masses, found near the edge of the H II region/galactic cluster NGC 3603.

Its apparent magnitude is +12.2, and the star-forming region NGC 3603 (about 6kpc distant) is located in our sky about 1/3 way from the Eta Carinae complex to Acrux. Sher 25 is a virtual twin to a star in the LMC that used to be known (until 1987) as Sanduleak -69 202 ... that became Supernova 1987A.

But why is it thought that Sher 25 is so close to the edge?

Remember the iconic glowing rings of ionised gas around 1987A that lit up like neon several years after the event, yes?

A picture of then is here on APOD:

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap000206.html

Astronomers have recently worked out that those rings of gas were expelled from the dying progenitor star Sanduleak -69 202 as it contracted from being a red-supergiant to become blue again <20,000 years before it went Kahblooie as 1987A.

Sher 25 (an almost identical star to Sanduleak -69 202 in every respect) already has those rings. It is also a "former" red-supergiant -- just like Sanduleak -69 202. Its chemical make-up is also "just-right".

It is therefore probable that Sher 25 has an absolute upper-limit of just 20,000 years to go -- likely somewhat (a lot??) less.

This is a paper on the star:

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2002A&A...391..979S

And another:

http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/316795

And this is an APOD/Hubble image -- Sher 25 is the brightest star a little upper-left of the cluster and clearly displays a bluish ring and bi-polar out-flows.

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990604.html

This one is very definitely ticking ...

Best,

Les D
Contributing Editor
AS&T

[glenc (Glen)]

The amazing thing about 1987A was the way it changed colour in about a week.

[JimmyH155]

HEY, don't rule out Antares and also Beetlejuice - they could "pop" any time as well
I always dream, when I am looking at Eta around this time of year ..."Suppose it goes off right now?" Who would I phone? Anybody know????

[Ian Robinson]

Originally Posted by JimmyH155

HEY, don't rule out Antares and also Beetlejuice - they could "pop" any time as well
I always dream, when I am looking at Eta around this time of year ..."Suppose it goes off right now?" Who would I phone? Anybody know????

http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/iau/cbat.html ?? 00 11 1617-495-7440 ??

I don't think you would have to report it .... you would probably be able to clearly see it in daylight , it will be truely spectacular. Eta Car is 21x closer than 1987A and about the same distance as the great supernova that produced the Crab Nebula (6500 ly cf 8000 ly).

The supernova that produced the Crab Nebula was seen easily in daylight by the chinese and arabs , probably as bright as −7 (brighter than everything in the night sky except the moon and the sun at the time.)

[glenc (Glen)]

If the shell's expansion has been decelerating, as seems reasonable, the supernova could have happened as recently as 1900.
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/18897969.html

[seeker372011 (Narayan)]

In answer to your question -yes of course you can see a supernovae...you just have to know where to look

just ask Bob Evans he has seen-41 or is it now 42 supernovae, I lose count-with his (earlier 10 inch , now 16 inchdob)-and has done so before anyone else including all the robotic telescope supernova hunters

http://www.sydneyobservatory.com.au/blog/?p=585

[astroron (Ron)]

There have been four supernova seen in our galaxy in the last 1000 years
there have been two supernovae seen in our Galaxy in the last five hundred years, the first seen by Tycho Brahe in1572 and the second in 1604 by Johannes Kepler.
There was a Supernova in the LMC in 1987 which was naked eye
There have been in the last twenty years over 1000 supernovae discovered through various types of telescopes both by amateurs and professional.
I have seen about a dozen in scopes from 20cm to 70cm the last ten years but discovered none
Ron

[astroron (Ron)]

Your question has been answered in the affirmative the last couple of days
Ron