Supernova going off in our galaxy ?

[jonfr]

This is a simple question.

Are there any observation on a supernova going off in our galaxy in the last 24 - 72 hours ?

[WayneFrancis]

first guess would be no.

I think the average is about 1 every 20 years and there is a good chance we might not even see it from our vantage point.

[jonfr]

Is there any web page that publish this type of information ?

[slang]

Why are you asking? There are some things visible in the sky that may give the impression of a supernova, even in daylight (does it go dark in Iceland now?).

[Jens]

Are there any observation on a supernova going off in our galaxy in the last 24 - 72 hours ?

No, but Betelgeuse could go any time. It would be an incredible sight. Apparently it would outshine the moon.

[astromark]

I use ' Space .com ' Heavens-above is another... If you do a simple Google search for nova events you will now as much as I.... and yes, lets keep a telescope pointed at the Orion group.

[robross]

No, but Betelgeuse could go any time. It would be an incredible sight. Apparently it would outshine the moon.

Yea, but "any time" in cosmological time, which could be anywhere from tomorrow to a million years from now :sad:

That would be pretty neat to witness it in our lifetimes!!

Rob

[01101001]

Is there any web page that publish this type of information ?

Brookhaven National Laboratory: SNEWS: SuperNova Early Warning System (http://snews.bnl.gov/)


World-wide, several detectors currently running or nearing completion are sensitive to a core collapse supernova neutrino signal in the Milky Way. The neutrino signal emerges promptly from a supernova's core, whereas it may take hours for the first photons to be visible. Therefore, the detection of the neutrino burst from the next Galactic supernova can provide an early warning for astronomers. Putting several detectors in coincidence can provide the astronomical community with a very high confidence early warning of the supernova's occurrence. In addition, the SNEWS alarm may be able to serve as a trigger for detectors which are not able to trigger on a supernova signal by themselves, allowing extra data to be saved.

The SNEWS project involves an international collaboration of experimenters representing current supernova neutrino detectors. In addition, gravitational wave detectors will be involved. The goal of SNEWS is to provide the astronomical community with a prompt alert of the occurrence of a Galactic core collapse event. We are also engaged in cooperative inter-experiment work, such as downtime coordination and inter-experiment timing verification, designed to optimize global sensitivity to a core collapse supernova signal.

[Argos]

Supernovae are rare. A basic rate would be one supernova per 100 years per galaxy.

[mugaliens]

boom...

[slang]

That was Kaguya (http://www.universetoday.com/2009/06/10/iya-live-telescope-kaguya-impact-1830-ut-the-moon/), not a supernova. :)

[cbacba]

Supernovae are rare. A basic rate would be one supernova per 100 years per galaxy.

I was thinking that number has recently been revised up to be 3 or 4 per century in a large galaxy.

Another place for information on novae and SN is the AAVSO web site.

[WayneFrancis]

I was thinking that number has recently been revised up to be 3 or 4 per century in a large galaxy.

Another place for information on novae and SN is the AAVSO web site.

yea, I rescently read a something that said about 5 per century but we might not see many of those in our galaxy because it is just an average and there are reasons that they might be obscured.

[jonfr]

Is there a chance that the red giant Betelgeuse has gone nova ? According to this article (http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17282-betelgeuse-the-incredible-shrinking-star.html) there are some speculations about it. I think that this article is similar to this article (http://www.universetoday.com/2009/06/09/the-case-of-the-incredible-shrinking-star/) on Universe Today.

[Jens]

Is there a chance that the red giant Betelgeuse has gone nova ? According to this article (http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17282-betelgeuse-the-incredible-shrinking-star.html) there are some speculations about it. I think that this article is similar to this article (http://www.universetoday.com/2009/06/09/the-case-of-the-incredible-shrinking-star/) on Universe Today.

There's a great way to find out. Unfortunately if you're in Iceland you won't be able to see Orion at night. But if Betelgeuse has gone nova, you should be able to see it even in the day sky. So take a look outside. :)

[cbacba]

Seems like there was something just coming out that Betelgeuse has been shrinking in size by 15% ??? over the last decade or so. If Belegeuse went nova, it should be increasing in output, something not happening at present. If it did long ago, the nova should be over long ago.

It certainly is changing right now and it is a huge diameter star. Large mass stars don't last very long, just a few million years on the main sequence, so it may be ending its red giant phase. Whether that means we'll be seeing a supernova next week or next year is another proposition. Even a short life span star is far in excess of a human life even though supernovae are short term transients. Next week, next year, next millenium are all possibilities of when it could blow its cork. However, a slow collapse as we're seeing now might just possibly provide a spectacular show on a much shorter time frame, perhaps even within our lifetimes.

[astromark]

Unfortunately at the present time observing Betelgeuse, is just a little hindered by our sun and the daylight nights.... just before sunrise maybe...I had better not miss this. That would be cruel !...

I may have some news for the OP. The 'Sky and Telescope' News of June 12. Reported (and thank you Sky and Tel.,) That On November 7 2008 a 14 year old 'Caroline Moore of Warwick N.Y. found a super nova in galaxy UGC 12682... Thats not this galaxy but it might be to what you refer.

[Fiery Phoenix]

It's believed that Betelgeuse could now go supernova any second. In fact, it's currently the number one supernova candidate.

[astromark]

I do not have the abilaty to look at this star at present as its in my daylight field of view and, would seem to be very near good old Sol right about now... Would that not be a awful twist of fate... A massive nova event on our back door and, we miss it.
Naa... I think we are being duped... its to easy.

[cbacba]

I do not have the abilaty to look at this star at present as its in my daylight field of view and, would seem to be very near good old Sol right about now... Would that not be a awful twist of fate... A massive nova event on our back door and, we miss it.
Naa... I think we are being duped... its to easy.

Don't worry, if it goes supernova, you'll see it for weeks daytime or not. I think the 1056 AD Crab Nebula supernova was visible for weeks during daylight from what I've read.

Granted I've not looked at the sky much recently but last I looked, Betelgeuse was still quite a few degrees up at sundown. I think that was less than a month ago.

Sorry, just checked the program, Betelgeuse is about 5 degrees ahead of the Sun now. Essentially, you can see it about 15 deg. So of the Sun - at least you can if it blows its cork.

Of course any second in astronomy terms means anything from literally a few seconds or minutes out to perhaps a million years or even several million years so don't hold your breath.

Personally, I'm not sure I'd want something roughly the equivalent of another full moon wiping out my night sky for months, despite the potential fascination of a rather unique object opportunity of a SN several hundred LY away, close enough to see and far enough to probably not be a problem - assuming we're not looking down the barrel of a major gamma ray burst too. If that's the case, we may be way too close. HOwever, I think we see it from an equitorial view rather than a polar view.

My own suspicion is that we're in for a century or more of minor misbehavior before anything that major happens.

On the brighter side of totally dismal, if you wake up to duplicate Suns in stereo tomorrow morning, you might not have to worry about anthropogenic warming any more - or for that matter, any taxes due next April 15th.

Note there's a nice little article on it at Wikipedia. However, the comment about us not being at risk for a gamma ray burst from the pole was evidently done by someone other than the person who supplied the photograph with the caption suggesting the white spot in the middle might be one of its poles. One of them is wrong and I really hope it's the photograph caption.

[mugaliens]

That was Kaguya (http://www.universetoday.com/2009/06/10/iya-live-telescope-kaguya-impact-1830-ut-the-moon/), not a supernova. :)

Aha! The impact not heard around the world!

Thanks for the link - I wasn't aware they were going out with a bang.