Orpington Astronomical Society

Astronomy => In the Media... => Topic started by: mickw on May 27, 2009, 15:39:39

Title: Hidden Radio Supernova Finally Found
Post by: mickw on May 27, 2009, 15:39:39
An elusive supernova explosion, detectable only in radio wavelengths, was discovered last month in the nearby galaxy M82.

The object, dubbed SN 2008iz, is the closest supernova discovered by scientists in the past five years. It would have been visible even to amateur telescopes, were it not for the dense gas and dust surrounding the exploding star, which left it invisible in every part of the spectrum except the radio wavelengths.

The supernova's home galaxy, M82, is an irregular galaxy in a nearby galaxy group located 12 million light-years from Earth.

More:   http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/090527-radio-supernova.html (http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/090527-radio-supernova.html)