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- A Supernova Cocoon Breakthrough
Observations with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have provided the first X-ray evidence of a supernova shock wave breaking through a cocoon of gas surrounding the star that exploded. This discovery may help astronomers understand why some supernovas are much more powerful than others. On Nov. 3, 2010, a supernova was discovered in the galaxy UGC 5189A, located about 160 million light years away. Using data from the All Sky Automated Survey telescope in Hawaii taken earlier, astronomers determined this supernova exploded in early October 2010 (in Earth's time-frame). This composite image of UGC 5189A shows X-ray data from Chandra in purple and optical data from Hubble Space Telescope in red, green and blue. SN 2010jl is the very bright X-ray source near the top of the galaxy. A team of researchers used Chandra to observe this supernova in December 2010 and again in October 2011. The supernova was one of the most luminous that has ever been detected in X-rays. The results of these observations were published in a paper that appeared in the May 1, 2012 issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Credits: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Royal Military College of Canada/P.Chandra et al); Optical: NASA/STScI
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Daily Archives: April 14, 2008
Europe’s Terrorism Puzzle
Across the Atlantic, a number of pieces of the terrorism puzzle are gradually being exposed. We see some indication of the size the issue, and the pervasiveness of institutional funding that originates in the middle-east. Douglas Farah has broken some … Continue reading
Posted in Terrorism, Threats
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Today’s Humor
One dark night outside a small town on the Wisconsin – Minnesota border, a fire started inside the local chemical plant and in a blink of an eye it exploded into massive flames. The alarm went out to all the … Continue reading
Posted in Humor
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