The 'Supernova of a Generation'
Channel: Thunderf00t
Date: 2011-08-27

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'Supernova of a Generation!'
http://www.geek.com/articles/geek-cetera/astronomers-discover-the-supernova-of-a-generation-20110827/
There is a supernova in M101, a relatively nearby galaxy (some 20 million light years away).  The galaxy is quite bright and in the constellation of ursa major (the great bear, or big dipper).  Now by pure chance I had taken a picture of M101 about a month ago, so the position of the supernova can be easily seen.  Further I was out there last night, basically doing the same thing again, and I could actually see it 'live at the eyepiece' with my 11in Schmidt cassigrain.  However eyes are fairly sensitive to this sort of thing, and it's likely that it will be a while yet before I can get 'video' of this at the eyepiece.  However I have got a 'deep sky' video camera that should do the job.

And yup, figure Im going to have a go at doing a time lapse on this one.  The problem with time lapse of the sky is things tend to be a long way away, so they have to move a long way for you to see anything.  Practically that means there ain't much you can do, especially if you only have 8 hrs of dark.  I've already had a go at the moon, Jupiter and Uranus, but this is a golden opportunity!  The chance to do a timelapse of a distant galaxy!  By some reckoning this is a once in generation supernova.

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