Super Nova
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Mad Doug Biker
Banned from every bar in the Galaxy
- Location
- Craggy Island
Cool, thanks!
Stephenite
Membå
- Location
- OslO
Stephenite
Membå
- Location
- OslO
Clear bit of sky here right now, but i cant see it. 
The Guardian says it's visible with a telescope or good bino's. I'm trying the naked (eye) approach.
The Guardian says it's visible with a telescope or good bino's. I'm trying the naked (eye) approach.
accountantpete
OAP
21 million light years doesn't really fully get over the fact that it actually happened 21 million years ago.
Fnaar
Smutmaster General
- Location
- Thumberland
I thought this thread was going to be in praise of someone's new Vauxhall.
annedonnelly
Girl from the North Country
- Location
- Canonbie
Perfectly clear here and I *think* I can see it - there are a lot of stars out there when you start looking through binoculars!
Saw a shooting star while I was looking
Saw a shooting star while I was looking
rowan 46
Über Member
- Location
- birmingham
betelgeuse in orion is expected to go nova any day now when that goes it should be possible to see it during the day.
Alien8
Senior Moment
- Location
- (A little bit north of) Cambridge
Yeah - any day now or in the next million years or so.
gbb
Squire
- Location
- Peterborough
I was telling my dad about this today, he's been blind for 15 years or so so i always try to paint a mental picture for him. Sadly it's cloudy here so no sightings but i was talking to him, it kinda went this way...
Turn a light off, it goes dark instantly. That's because light particles deteriorate almost instantly. (forgive the possibly wrong laymans interpretation, i may be talking tosh)
So why can we see light that left a dying sun 21 million years ago fer chrissakes...can someone explain that to me...preferably in a way a simpleton can understand ?
My dad wouldn't give an opinion....nooooo, he said, don't even go there
Turn a light off, it goes dark instantly. That's because light particles deteriorate almost instantly. (forgive the possibly wrong laymans interpretation, i may be talking tosh)
So why can we see light that left a dying sun 21 million years ago fer chrissakes...can someone explain that to me...preferably in a way a simpleton can understand ?
My dad wouldn't give an opinion....nooooo, he said, don't even go there
Stephenite
Membå
- Location
- OslO
It's all to do with the distance you, the observer, are from the light source. When the light bulb, or a supernova, goes out it stops sending out light. If you're very close you will notice it very quickly. If you are far away it will take longer for you to notice it.
Basically.
I don't envy being your dad!!
Basically.
I don't envy being your dad!!
rowan 46
Über Member
- Location
- birmingham
they are pretty sure its gonna be less than a million but you are right that it may not be in our lifetime. on the other hand it could go tomorrow
rowan 46
Über Member
- Location
- birmingham
light travels through a vacuum at aprox 186000 miles per second. a light year is the distance light travels in 1 year (aprox 6000 000 000 000 miles) hence 21 million light years is aprox 6triilion x 21 million miles away. Think of light like a message in a bottle its thrown out of the star at high speed but takes 21 million years to get here. you pick up the bottle just as it arrives on the beach although new to you the message will be 21 million years old. Hope that helpsI was telling my dad about this today, he's been blind for 15 years or so so i always try to paint a mental picture for him. Sadly it's cloudy here so no sightings but i was talking to him, it kinda went this way...
Turn a light off, it goes dark instantly. That's because light particles deteriorate almost instantly. (forgive the possibly wrong laymans interpretation, i may be talking tosh)
So why can we see light that left a dying sun 21 million years ago fer chrissakes...can someone explain that to me...preferably in a way a simpleton can understand ?
My dad wouldn't give an opinion....nooooo, he said, don't even go there
Mad Doug Biker
Banned from every bar in the Galaxy
- Location
- Craggy Island
Damn cloud! that said there was thunder and lightning very far away from us last night - at one point it took about a minute for the rumble to be heard after the flash, just showing how fast the speed of light is and how slow the speed of sound is.
Actually, if you were to substitute the light of the Supernova for the sound of that thunder, then there, you would have your answer in a more manageable timeframe - the sound happened about a minute ago, but it is so slow that you are only hearing it about a minute later!
Likewise, I remember being up the side of a mountain in Switzerland years ago and there was a guy hammering in some fence posts with a huge mallet a distance off. You could see him silently hitting the fence post, only for the sound to be hear a second or two later.
Actually, if you were to substitute the light of the Supernova for the sound of that thunder, then there, you would have your answer in a more manageable timeframe - the sound happened about a minute ago, but it is so slow that you are only hearing it about a minute later!
Likewise, I remember being up the side of a mountain in Switzerland years ago and there was a guy hammering in some fence posts with a huge mallet a distance off. You could see him silently hitting the fence post, only for the sound to be hear a second or two later.
Clear bit of sky here right now, but i cant see it.
The Guardian says it's visible with a telescope or good bino's. I'm trying the naked (eye) approach.
You'll need binoculars but even then it will be a slightly brighter than normal fuzz. But its one of those things you can say you saw even if it was unremarkable.
