Thanks again all,
Channel 10 was a surprise. The level of media/public interest caught me well off guard, people really do want to know about the universe around them . A few things re; obtrusive lighting and amateur astronomy as a hobby in Australia were left out and the bit in the paper about astronomy being like buying a boat and costing $....was not quite what i had said but they did a good job overall. There maybe a feature article in this weekends Courier Mail.
Rick, I wish you well in your own search and I look forward to passing onto you the same congratulations when you find your first supernova. If you would like any of my reference material please send me a PM.
Regards
Peter
Thanks again all,
Channel 10 was a surprise. The level of media/public interest caught me well off guard, people really do want to know about the universe around them . A few things re; obtrusive lighting and amateur astronomy as a hobby in Australia were left out and the bit in the paper about astronomy being like buying a boat and costing $....was not quite what i had said but they did a good job overall. There maybe a feature article in this weekends Courier Mail.
Crikeys! A journo added stuff you didn't say? That'd be unusual!
Well done on the SN Peter, must be an enormously satisfying..
But if it's possible to explain in a layman's sentence, - how the blinking flip do you set about deciding that this diddy little 'star' is a supernova. I mean, just how do you know it is? I'm absolutely astounded beyond description.
Hi there Paul, this might be a bit long (again) but might be help.
I have been taking images for several years now so I have a pretty good list of my own reference images as well as images from other amateurs like Alex Wassilieff New Zealand and also from the Digitised Sky Survey images.
I had quite recently imaged NGC6722 several times so it was immediately apparent that a "new" star even though faint, was on the 25 second mage that I took on the 20th. I then took several more images and yep was still there so no image faults. The next step was to check for known minor planets - there is a minor planet list available that you put the RA & Dec of the area you are interested in and it lists minor planets down to something like 20th mag. Next check for known variable stars, again there is a list you can go to as above and put in RA, Dec. So both are clear. Now an image say 1/2 or so later and there is no movement in the suspect so that helps to rule out a new and undiscovered minor planet (but more images later cement this). So now some friends help out. Greg Bock and Colin Drescher get a fairly accurate position and magnitude of the suspect from my images using Astrometrica and CCD soft. I call Brendan Downs to supply a confirming image and he is at Chess, bummer. So Steve Quirk in NSW obliges immediately and calls me with yup it's in his images as well and he has an accurate position.
So by now it's about 11.30pm. I have spoken to Bob Evans and it is then decided to send an email to the CBAT (IAU) and wait and see what they announce. In next day or so a South African Berto Monard himself a prolific supernova discoverer responds to my email and he also confirms the new star and this all adds to the evidence. The next 2 nights I image another 150 galaxies looking for another supernova ... and on it goes all the while re improving my reference images.
So there is a process, and it worked pretty well. I still got excited though when I saw the first image of that star and then realised that it hasn't existed for some 240 million years.....
Cheers
Peter
thanks so much for going to the trouble of that great reply. It certainly took away much of the mystery. I see how you've confirmed that the new star is definitely new by comparing your older images with new images from a variety of trusted sources - including yourself. But how can you conclude that this 'new' star is a supernova and not some other type of star.
I imagine it's clear by now that I haven't the faintest scrap of knowledge in this area . For example, it may be that new stars are always supernovae for some reason. I'd appreciate clarification of this last point if you have the time Peter. I'd say it may be helpful to others on the forum too.
Good question that I didn't really answer.
The new star is really classed by the International Astronomical Union in their announcement as an "apparent supernova". This announcement is sent out to all subscribers to the CBET service (Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams - "Telegrams" being as sort of ongoing tradition even though they are emails) that reports transient objects - this site explains it better http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/cbat.html Subscribers include major observatories who may take spectra of the apparent supernova to determine its type, broadly Type 1a or 2 (there are other classes). As I understand it, professionals are now mainly interested in supernova brighter than mag 14 (usually means they are close) and secondly if fainter and there is a negative observation within about a week prior to discovery (means they are caught early). This gives them the window of opportunity to see the supernova rise in brightness and that will then tell them much more about the processes that may have initiated the Supernova, which seems somewhat but not entirely understood. Sn2008fa has risen in brightness, last night my images and images from Steve Quirk put it at about mag16.5, so it has probably peaked. My last observation prior to discovery was over a week old.
Have any professional scopes taken spectra to determine type - don't know, may be some time yet before we know. But is it a Supernova? The odds say certainly yes as it has followed the pattern of so many before it and it will fade like them into obscurity in a few weeks (there is an interesting case with a recent transient discovery in NGC300 - not a SN or Nova or variable, perhaps stars colliding? )
So why only 8 posts on Ice In Space? My interest is firmly in Supernova hunting, I spend most nights in my observatory, I have a 20yr old son who requires most all of my time during the day. I do enjoy reading posts on Ice In Space and do so as often as I can. I have been surprised by the interest in my discovery and seeing the posts from so many well wishers. So here is my opportunity to give a thank you back.
Thank you Paul for your excellent question.
Regards
Peter
Good question that I didn't really answer.
The new star is really classed by the International Astronomical Union in their announcement as an "apparent supernova". This announcement is sent out to all subscribers to the CBET service (Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams - "Telegrams" being as sort of ongoing tradition even though they are emails) that reports transient objects - this site explains it better http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/cbat.html Subscribers include major observatories who may take spectra of the apparent supernova to determine its type, broadly Type 1a or 2 (there are other classes). As I understand it, professionals are now mainly interested in supernova brighter than mag 14 (usually means they are close) and secondly if fainter and there is a negative observation within about a week prior to discovery (means they are caught early). This gives them the window of opportunity to see the supernova rise in brightness and that will then tell them much more about the processes that may have initiated the Supernova, which seems somewhat but not entirely understood. Sn2008fa has risen in brightness, last night my images and images from Steve Quirk put it at about mag16.5, so it has probably peaked. My last observation prior to discovery was over a week old.
Have any professional scopes taken spectra to determine type - don't know, may be some time yet before we know. But is it a Supernova? The odds say certainly yes as it has followed the pattern of so many before it and it will fade like them into obscurity in a few weeks (there is an interesting case with a recent transient discovery in NGC300 - not a SN or Nova or variable, perhaps stars colliding? )
So why only 8 posts on Ice In Space? My interest is firmly in Supernova hunting, I spend most nights in my observatory, I have a 20yr old son who requires most all of my time during the day. I do enjoy reading posts on Ice In Space and do so as often as I can. I have been surprised by the interest in my discovery and seeing the posts from so many well wishers. So here is my opportunity to give a thank you back.
Thank you Paul for your excellent question.
Regards
Peter
Peter,
thanks very much for that also excellent explanation. I'm glad I asked, and now I really do understand the process behind the discovery and classification of these objects. Many thanks for your time and trouble Peter. Hey, maybe if more of us spent more time looking upwards and less time on here, we might be in the running to make a valuable contribution also Happy hunting in future !
. For example, it may be that new stars are always supernovae for some reason. I'd appreciate clarification of this last point if you have the time Peter. I'd say it may be helpful to others on the forum too.
