Atlantis Online
March 28, 2024, 08:09:03 am
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
News: Hunt for Lost City of Atlantis
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3227295.stm
 
  Home Help Arcade Gallery Links Staff List Calendar Login Register  

Ancient Supernova Mystery Solved

Pages: [1]   Go Down
  Print  
Author Topic: Ancient Supernova Mystery Solved  (Read 80 times)
0 Members and 7 Guests are viewing this topic.
Bianca
Superhero Member
******
Posts: 41646



« on: December 03, 2008, 11:17:28 pm »










                                            Ancient supernova mystery solved 





By James Morgan
Science reporter,
BBC News 
Dec.3, 2008


VIDEO:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7762939.stm


Waves of light from the original explosion are still arriving at Earth

In 1572, a "new star" appeared in the sky which stunned astronomers and exploded ancient theories of the universe.

Now the supernova recorded by Tycho Brahe has been glimpsed again, by Max Planck Institute scientists.

They used telescopes in Hawaii and Spain to capture faint light echoes of the original explosion, reflected by interstellar dust.

This "fossil imprint" of Tycho's famous supernova is reported in Nature.



"The study will help solve a 400-year-old mystery over the nature of the celestial event which captivated observers across the globe.   The supernova of 1572 marked a milestone in the history
of science"

Dr Oliver Krause,
Max Planck Institute for Astronomy
 


In early November 1572, the brilliant "new star" appeared in the constellation Cassiopiea, and was even visible during daylight.

Among those who marvelled was the great Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, who recorded its precise position in his book, "Stella Nova".

His measurements revealed the "new star" was located far beyond the Moon - contradicting the Aristotelian tradition that such stars were unchangeable - which had dominated western thinking for nearly 2000 years. 
Tycho Brahe was captivated by the mysterious "new star"

This set the stage for the work of Kepler, Galileo, Newton and others.
Report Spam   Logged

Your mind understands what you have been taught; your heart what is true.

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Bianca
Superhero Member
******
Posts: 41646



« Reply #1 on: December 03, 2008, 11:19:17 pm »


   


             

              Tycho Brahe was captivated
              by the mysterious "new star"








Stella Nova



"The supernova of 1572 marked a milestone in the history of science," said Oliver Krause, of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Germany.

"It ultimately led to the abandonment of the notion of the immutability of the heavens.

"But its classification has been controversial.

"The determination of the exact supernova type has not been possible, without spectroscopic information."

Based on historic records, Tycho's supernova [SN 1572] has traditionally been interpreted as a type Ia supernova.

Such supernovas are believed to occur when a white dwarf star undergoes a titanic, thermonuclear explosion.

Material from the star is ejected at up to 18,000 miles per second - or one-tenth of the speed of light.



VIDEO:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7762939.stm



Astronomers have reconstructed Tycho Brahe's 1572 supernova

The debris from Tycho's supernova has expanded over the last 400 years into a cloud of gas and dust with a diameter of more than 20 light years.

But the nature of the original explosive event which created this remnant has remained unresolved.
Report Spam   Logged

Your mind understands what you have been taught; your heart what is true.
Bianca
Superhero Member
******
Posts: 41646



« Reply #2 on: December 03, 2008, 11:20:44 pm »




             

              Brahe's observations helped overturn
              Aristotle's theories of the universe








Cosmic flashbulb



To elucidate, Dr Krause and his team conducted a "post-mortem", by training their telescopes on faint light echoes from the original event.

A supernova explosion acts like a cosmic flashbulb - producing light that propagates in all directions. 
Brahe's observations helped overturn Aristotle's theories of the universe

The first direct light wave from the explosion swept past Earth in 1572, observed by Brahe.

But even today, further waves of light from the original explosion continue to reach Earth indirectly - reflected in the "mirror" of interstellar dust particles.

These "light echoes" contain a kind of "fossil imprint" of the original supernova, and are used by astronomers to "time travel" back to witness ancient cosmic events.

Dr Krause and his team were able to detect an optical spectrum of Tycho's supernova at near maximum brightness, using telescopes at the Calar Alto observatory, Spain, and at Mauna Kea, Hawaii.

"We find that it belongs to the majority class of normal type Ia supernovae," said Dr Krause.

"An exciting opportunity now would be to use other [light echoes] to construct a three-dimensional spectroscopic view of the explosion."

The new measurements may also shed light on important, unsolved questions about how type Ia supernovae arise.   
« Last Edit: December 03, 2008, 11:22:07 pm by Bianca » Report Spam   Logged

Your mind understands what you have been taught; your heart what is true.
Bianca
Superhero Member
******
Posts: 41646



« Reply #3 on: December 03, 2008, 11:23:30 pm »





             

              The remnant of Tycho's supernova
              as it appears today








The new measurements may also shed light on important, unsolved questions about how type Ia supernovae arise.

In one model, a white dwarf star accumulates (accretes) material from a companion star until it reaches a critical mass and undergoes a thermonuclear explosion. 
The remnant of Tycho's supernova as it appears today

In another, the accretion occurs by the merging of two white dwarfs.

The proximity of Tycho - which lies in the Milky Way - makes it an ideal candidate for more detailed studies.

"The technique of observing light echoes from supernovae is a remarkable observational tool," said Dr Andrea Pastorello, of Queens University, Belfast.

"It will allow astrophysicists to characterise other supernova remnants in our galaxy and in nearby galaxies.

"This will hopefully clarify the relationship between supernova relics and their explosion mechanisms.

"Finally, it is likely that precise information about the frequency of the different supernova types in our galaxy and its surroundings will shed light on the star-formation history and chemical evolution of the local group of galaxies."
Report Spam   Logged

Your mind understands what you have been taught; your heart what is true.
Bianca
Superhero Member
******
Posts: 41646



« Reply #4 on: December 04, 2008, 08:17:33 am »










                                   Study illuminates star explosion from 16th century







MALCOLM RITTER,
AP Science Writer–
Thu Dec 4, 2008
AP –
NEW YORK –

More than 400 years after Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe challenged established wisdom about the heavens by analyzing a strange new light in the sky, scientists say they've finally nailed down just
what he saw.

It's no big surprise. Scientists have known the light came from a supernova, a huge star explosion.
But what kind of supernova?

A new study confirms that, as expected, it was the common kind that involves the thermonuclear explosion of a white dwarf star with a nearby companion.

The research, which analyzed a "light echo" from the long-ago event, is presented in Thursday's issue
of the journal Nature by scientists in Germany, Japan and the Netherlands.

The story of what's commonly called Tycho's supernova began on Nov. 11, 1572, when Brahe was astonished to see what he thought was a brilliant new star in the constellation Cassiopeia. The light eventually became as bright as Venus and could be seen for two weeks in broad daylight. After 16 months, it disappeared.

Working before telescopes were invented, Brahe documented with precision that unlike the moon and the planets, the light's position didn't move in relation to the stars. That meant it lay far beyond the moon. That was a shock to the contemporary view that the distant heavens were perfect and unchanging.

The event inspired Brahe to commit himself further to studying the stars, launching a career of meticulous observations that helped lay the foundations of early modern astronomy, said Michael
Shank, a professor of the history of science at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

The direct light from the supernova swept past Earth long ago. But some of it struck dust clouds in deep space, causing them to brighten. That "light echo" was still observable, and the new study was based on analyzing the wavelengths of light from that.

___



On the Net:

Nature:



http://www.nature.com/nature
Report Spam   Logged

Your mind understands what you have been taught; your heart what is true.
Pages: [1]   Go Up
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by EzPortal
Bookmark this site! | Upgrade This Forum
SMF For Free - Create your own Forum
Powered by SMF | SMF © 2016, Simple Machines
Privacy Policy