Latest version of the Cosmic Chatter - Tara Anglican School for Girls
Latest version of the Cosmic Chatter - Tara Anglican School for Girls
Latest version of the Cosmic Chatter - Tara Anglican School for Girls
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Our First Supernova & Leadership Workshop<br />
Congratulations to Emma Hayman and Fleur Combridge who have managed to find SPOT’s first<br />
supernova whilst imaging <strong>the</strong> spiral galaxy M95 on Tuesday 20 th March! With <strong>the</strong> entire Universe out<br />
<strong>the</strong>re to look at <strong>the</strong>y just happened to be looking at <strong>the</strong> right place at <strong>the</strong> right time. The image<br />
shown below clearly shows <strong>the</strong> supernova, despite being taken through some cloud.<br />
Image <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Supernova<br />
A supernova is a rare explosion <strong>of</strong> a star and can outshine entire galaxies over several weeks or<br />
months be<strong>for</strong>e fading out. During this period, a supernova can radiate as much energy as <strong>the</strong> Sun is<br />
expected to emit in its lifespan! SPOT members are looking <strong>for</strong>ward to monitoring <strong>the</strong> course <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
supernova over <strong>the</strong> coming weeks.<br />
The exploded star has been named SN 2012aw, and is 37 million light-years away. It is currently<br />
shining with <strong>the</strong> light <strong>of</strong> 500 million suns and is expected to become brighter! It was first spotted on<br />
16 th March 2012 but actually exploded approximately 38 million years ago! The time it has taken <strong>for</strong><br />
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