Vreemde supernova gespot ?

Bron : Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A new kind of cosmic explosion has been spotted in Earth's celestial neighborhood, and amateur astronomers in the Northern Hemisphere might be able to see it next week, scientists reported on Thursday.

The blast seemed a lot like a gamma-ray burst, the most distant and powerful type of explosion known to astronomers.

But when scientists first detected it with NASA's Swift satellite on February 18, the explosion was about 25 times closer and lasted 100 times longer than a typical gamma-ray burst.

"This is totally new, totally unexpected," said Neil Gehrels, Swift's principal investigator. "This is the type of unscripted event in our nearby universe that we hoped Swift could catch."

The explosion originated in a star-forming galaxy about 440 million light-years away toward the constellation Aries (The Ram). A light-year is about 6 trillion miles, the distance light travels in a year.

This would be the second-closest gamma-ray burst ever detected, if indeed it is one.

The burst lasted for nearly 2,000 seconds, or about 33 minutes, astronomers said in a statement. Most bursts last a few milliseconds to tens of seconds. It also was surprisingly dim.

Scientists at Italy's National Institute for Astrophysics found hints of a budding supernova -- an exploding star -- when they saw the afterglow from the original explosion grow brighter in optical light.

If it is a supernova, scientists will have an unprecedented view of one from start to finish.

Scientists will attempt observations with the Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory. Amateur astronomers in dark skies might be able to see the explosion with a 16-inch (40-cm) telescope.

More information and images are available online at www.nasa.gov

Drugshond	vrijdag 24 februari 2006 @ 11:13
	quote: Bron : Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A new kind of cosmic explosion has been spotted in Earth's celestial neighborhood, and amateur astronomers in the Northern Hemisphere might be able to see it next week, scientists reported on Thursday. The blast seemed a lot like a gamma-ray burst, the most distant and powerful type of explosion known to astronomers. But when scientists first detected it with NASA's Swift satellite on February 18, the explosion was about 25 times closer and lasted 100 times longer than a typical gamma-ray burst. "This is totally new, totally unexpected," said Neil Gehrels, Swift's principal investigator. "This is the type of unscripted event in our nearby universe that we hoped Swift could catch." The explosion originated in a star-forming galaxy about 440 million light-years away toward the constellation Aries (The Ram). A light-year is about 6 trillion miles, the distance light travels in a year. This would be the second-closest gamma-ray burst ever detected, if indeed it is one. The burst lasted for nearly 2,000 seconds, or about 33 minutes, astronomers said in a statement. Most bursts last a few milliseconds to tens of seconds. It also was surprisingly dim. Scientists at Italy's National Institute for Astrophysics found hints of a budding supernova -- an exploding star -- when they saw the afterglow from the original explosion grow brighter in optical light. If it is a supernova, scientists will have an unprecedented view of one from start to finish. Scientists will attempt observations with the Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory. Amateur astronomers in dark skies might be able to see the explosion with a 16-inch (40-cm) telescope. More information and images are available online at www.nasa.gov Nederlandse tekst Best wel apart en nieuwswaardig omdat je zoiets niet elke dag ziet. [ Bericht 3% gewijzigd door Drugshond op 24-02-2006 12:10:07 ]
Burbo	vrijdag 24 februari 2006 @ 11:34
	Tof
Het_Biertje	vrijdag 24 februari 2006 @ 11:35
	vroeger werd ik altijd heel benauwd als ik dacht dat dat met onze zon ook kan gebeuren
Marietje_34	vrijdag 24 februari 2006 @ 11:44
	quote: Op vrijdag 24 februari 2006 11:35 schreef Het_Biertje het volgende: vroeger werd ik altijd heel benauwd als ik dacht dat dat met onze zon ook ~~kan~~ gaat gebeuren
Drugshond	vrijdag 24 februari 2006 @ 11:47
	Als het een supernova is, dan is hij wel redelijk uniek te noemen. Staat gelijk in de top 2, qua afstanden. Jaarlijks worden tegenwoordig driehonderd nieuwe supernovae ontdekt. Wiki
Lucille	vrijdag 24 februari 2006 @ 11:48
	1987A was een mooie
sungaMsunitraM	vrijdag 24 februari 2006 @ 11:49
	Ik moest meteen aan torrents denken toen ik de TT zag
Drugshond	vrijdag 24 februari 2006 @ 11:50
	quote: Op vrijdag 24 februari 2006 11:49 schreef sungaMsunitraM het volgende: Ik moest meteen aan torrents denken toen ik de TT zag Dat is Suprnova
1-of-6Billion	vrijdag 24 februari 2006 @ 11:58
	Zou wel VET zijn als dat tot een kosmisch spektakel uitgroeit
AstroStart	vrijdag 24 februari 2006 @ 12:06
	astrostart.nl De Nederlandse vertaling van dit nieuwsbericht. Mijn dank voor het melden [ Bericht 12% gewijzigd door Drugshond op 24-02-2006 12:12:26 ]
Drugshond	vrijdag 24 februari 2006 @ 23:43
	[NWS] -> [WFL]
Drugshond	zaterdag 25 februari 2006 @ 23:32
	quote: Op vrijdag 24 februari 2006 12:06 schreef AstroStart het volgende: astrostart.nl De Nederlandse vertaling van dit nieuwsbericht. Mijn dank voor het melden Leuke site overigens.... bookmarked.
AstroStart	woensdag 8 maart 2006 @ 15:42
	quote: Op zaterdag 25 februari 2006 23:32 schreef Drugshond het volgende: [..] Leuke site overigens.... bookmarked. Dank je
Marvin-THE-MARTiAN	woensdag 8 maart 2006 @ 21:11
	tvp