I think i saw a supernova!

[mattweather]

Not sure where i put this topic?

This arvo at sport for school, around 3pm, i saw some flashing light in the sky at the west. It lasted around 1-2 seconds. It incredibley seems a explosion in the sky, i was shocked but i didn't tell anyone because i knew they will panic about it. I am sure it wasn't a plane or bird. I am seriously saw that happened.

[HenrikOlsen]

Iridium flash?

I'd say definitely not a supernova

[mattweather]

No not at all, i explained. No flares affected here since 2am this morning. Satellite position at South America. No plane flights around 3pm for Ballina airport.

[hhEb09'1]

No not at all, i explained.Explained where?

[mattweather]

To other forums.:) I need investigations!

[Tog_]

Iridium flash?

I'd say definitely not a supernova

A supernova would be visible for many many days, if not a few weeks. If it only lasted a second or two, my first guess would be a really large straggler from the Perseids. A meteor.

Other options might be a reflection from an unpainted airliner, or as mentioned an iridium flash.

[mattweather]

OMG!!! I checked out more sites. Nothing were around. No rocks commended!

[Jeff Root]

Satellite position at South America.
What does that mean? If you are near Ballina and Lismore then
you are on the east coast of Australia.


No plane flights around 3pm for Ballina airport.
How about between Sydney and Brisbane? Or between Sydney
and Los Angeles?

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

[Jeff Root]

OMG!!! I checked out more sites. Nothing were around. No rocks commended!
Do you have a dental appointment or a trip to visit relatives
coming up? Something that you would really like to avoid?

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

[mattweather]

Jeff, about the flights that what i was mean, no planes around us. Which i concerned Ballina airport is controlling the air service. You know what is the satellite is? That satellite is was at South America on that time. I am in Ballina derr! Don't tell me about my dental/mental note:( Note to viewers in here: I am dead serious saw the thing.

[hhEb09'1]

You know what is the satellite is? That satellite is was at South America on that time. The space station?

[mattweather]

Of course!!!

Here is my description of what i saw.
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e376/mattweather/Supernova.jpg

[Wolverine]

Moved from Babbling to Observing.

[NEOWatcher]

Moved from Babbling to Observing.

The problem is: He observed something, and is now babbling about it.:lol:

We need a clear concise description of what you saw. Brightess, color, movement, something I call envelope (how it faded or blinked in/out).

Just because it's not on Heavens-Above doesn't mean it should have been. h-a is predictive, and there are occasional flares or odd visualizations of space objects that are normally not bright enough for mention.
It could be that (but I would doubt it for 3PM), or a quick reentry of junk, or a meteor, or an aircraft reflection (my bet).
Even if the airspace is controlled, it doesn't mean there are no aircraft. It just means general aviation is not allowed.

[Jeff Root]

The first things I want to know are: How far above the horizon
was it, and what were the sky conditions at the moment?

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

[Z28Jerry]

The first thing I want to know is if English is your second, maybe third language?

Not a supernova. If I had to guess based on your posts I would agree with Tog on the Perseids.

[mattweather]

I am not kidding, i looked on school telescope today and i saw an exact same thing! I looked like a picture which i just showed you. It not a flare. It something else would be a supernova or other type of explosion.

[01101001]

Still:

We need a clear concise description of what you saw. Brightess, color, movement, something I call envelope (how it faded or blinked in/out).

[Kaptain K]

Again;

Whatever it is, it is NOT a supernova. A supernova takes days to reach maximum brightness and months to fade.

[mattweather]

How you know? You wasn't here.

[Tog_]

How you know? You wasn't here.

If it were a supernova, visible in the daylight, Someone else would have seen it by now and there would be an official announcement.

Could you give where you were when you saw it (the city), the date and time, and the position in the sky for us? You say it's still in the same spot. Could you give us a compass heading, or some other indication of direction? About how high was it above the horizon? Details like that are very important for finding things in the sky.

No one doubts that you saw "something", but the chances of it being a supernova are very, very slim. They just don't happen the way you described what you saw.

[Maksutov]

Based on the sketch, it appears the Blob has defrosted and we are all in peril. ;)

[Nicolas]

"I saw something coming overhead, it was red and hairy, and singing the theme song of the Flintstones. It was a Russian Navy submarine"

"How do you know it wasn't a submarine? You weren't there."

We're not doubting you saw something, and that most probably there also was something (that are two different things), but what you describe just ain't a supernova.

My example is not meant to laugh at you, just to illustrate why people can tell that with very large certainty it wasn't a supernova, without having seen the event.

[Maksutov]

I am not kidding, i looked on school telescope today and i saw an exact same thing! I looked like a picture which i just showed you. It not a flare. It something else would be a supernova or other type of explosion.Has anyone else seen it? Do you have a photograph of it? Have the scope's optics been cleaned lately?

Do you have RA and D coordinates so other folks in the southern hemisphere (and others who might have visual access to that celestial location) might look for it? How about even an approximate location on a star chart?

[hhEb09'1]

How you know? You say it was flashing? How many times, and how frequently?

[Dave Mitsky]

As others have said, it could not possibly have been a supernova. If you take the time to do a little research, you'll find that out for yourself.

http://www.rochesterastronomy.org/snimages/

My guess is that it was a head-on meteor or a flare from a non-Iridium satellite. I have seen a number of non-Iridium satellites flare brightly including the Envisat and the UARS.

Dave Mitsky

[jouster]

If (even excepting the time scale, which is all wrong) you could see a supernova at 3PM, would that not require the SN to be within our galaxy? Could an extra-galactic SN be bright enough to be viewed at that time of day? It's inconceivable that a local SN could occur without the knowlegde of the professional community.

[Tog_]

If (even excepting the time scale, which is all wrong) you could see a supernova at 3PM, would that not require the SN to be within our galaxy? Could an extra-galactic SN be bright enough to be viewed at that time of day? It's inconceivable that a local SN could occur without the knowlegde of the professional community.

The star that formed the Crab Nebula is said to have been visible in daylight if I recall. For weeks. Venus can be seen naked eye in daylight if you know where to look, so it's possible. But it wouldnt flash. It would also show up VERY well around dusk if it were a SN.

[Dave Mitsky]

Just to make things crystal clear, the supernova that spawned the Crab Nebula was part of the Milky Way. There have been other internal supernovae that have been bright enough to be seen during daylight, but a supernova in an external galaxy, even one of the Magellanic Clouds, would have to be impossibly bright to be seen during the day.

Dave Mitsky

[Maksutov]

Just to make things crystal clear, the supernova that spawned the Crab Nebula was part of the Milky Way. There have been other internal supernovae that have been bright enough to be seen during daylight, but a supernova in an external galaxy, even one of the Magellanic Clouds, would have to be impossibly bright to be seen during the day.

Dave MitskyThere always seemed to me to be something wonderful about the Chinese astronomers calling that particular supernova a "guest star". :)

[mattweather]

I guess it one of those clouds in the galaxy?

[Jeff Root]

Matt,

The Magellenic Clouds are two small galaxies close to the Milky Way.
In fact they are the closest known galaxies to the galaxy we live in.
I have never seen them, but you almost certainly have, because
they are both in the southern sky.

How about you explain what you saw the other day in more detail,
and more clearly, so that we can try to identify it?

Did you see it more than once? Did you see it through a telescope?
Where in the sky was it? Especially: What was the angle from the
horizon to the light? What were the sky conditions at the time?

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

[mattweather]

Sorry Jeff, there is no angle on the telescope at all. During this week i try to do again if theres no cloud cover. In detail, it glowing as in explosion, not in the atmosphere because there is no smoke coming out of it. Last Thursday i looked through the telescope and saw the same glowing flashy sight by last Wednesday in the same position and time. Time was 3pm approx. Australia eastern standard time. I don't know what the angle is but i say the bearing angle was north of the sun position at WNW to NW. About few cms above the horizon by your eyes measurement. I am sorry if this is hard to get it because i dont have angles at all. Good luck.

[perfessor]

Matt, can you give details about your scope. It almost sounds like an internal reflection of the sun.

[mattweather]

I have to find that out on Monday because i forget what details and brand on it.

[Jeff Root]

Sorry Jeff, there is no angle on the telescope at all.
Get someone else who is good at measuring angles -- such as a
science or math teacher, or another student who did well in
geometry class -- to look at you as you point to how high the
light was, and estimate the angle for you. Zero degrees is
straight out toward the horizon; 90 degrees is straight up;
45 degrees is halfway between.

If you were looking through the telescope when you saw the
light, then you can aim it the same way again, and measure
the angle with a protractor.

Were you using the telescope the first time you saw it?


During this week i try to do again if theres no cloud cover.
In detail, it glowing as in explosion, not in the atmosphere
because there is no smoke coming out of it.
Well, it eliminates the possibility that it was a smoke bomb,
anyhow. :)


Last Thursday i looked through the telescope and saw the same
glowing flashy sight by last Wednesday in the same position and
time. Time was 3pm approx. Australia eastern standard time.
Okay, that would appear to eliminate the possibility that it
was a supernova. :)


I don't know what the angle is but i say the bearing angle was
north of the sun position at WNW to NW.
Sounds like it was very close to the Sun! WNW to NW is exactly
where I would expect the Sun to be at 3pm at this time of year.


About few cms above the horizon by your eyes measurement.
That doesn't really communicate anything that anyone else
would be able to understand. You could explain what you
meant by it, or you could try a different description of the
height above the horizon, or you could do both. Both would
be good!


I am sorry if this is hard to get it because i dont have
angles at all.
I don't understand what you mean when you say that you "don't
have angles". Can you explain that?

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

[mattweather]

YES JEFF LOL. I got it the telescope is advanced for researching space. The angle is between 40-47 degrees. And it not near the sun because the sun was WSW at the time. Be careful, this research is very hard to track the supernova or other like the outer space explosion because if you out in Australia and the position is different.

[Maksutov]

YES JEFF LOL. I got it the telescope is advanced for researching space. The angle is between 40-47 degrees. And it not near the sun because the sun was WSW at the time. Be careful, this research is very hard to track the supernova or other like the outer space explosion because if you out in Australia and the position is different.Huh?

http://www.cosgan.de/images/smilie/konfus/a015.gif

[mattweather]

Ok guys, i will send this information to our local observatory stations in NSW or QLD to figure out in the place i found out on star chart. I located in Mensa constellation is based on declination of -70 degrees to 85.5 degrees. Centre part named NGC 2070 LMC or Dorado (is seen in southern hemisphere) at 60 degrees or looking at Horologium section at 60 degrees and 249h. The object GF 1061 (Gliese-Jahreiss) at 44 degrees, 30 minutes and 46 degrees. The distance is only 11.9 light years away of in magnitude of 11.92. Also another possible object in same area called Iota Horologii which is 50 light years away as in declination of -50 degrees, 48 minutes and 12.3 degrees.

Wiki have information about this includes:
Mensa: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mensa_%28constellation%29 (on there, you can also see the chart where is south pole on the bottom of the map)

Next one is Dorado: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorado (next door to Mensa)

Horologium is another location, also next door to both neighbourhoods. It have stars in it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horologium
At this position, star Gliese have highest magnetude to provide higher explosion that can be seen from Earth. Gliese object: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GJ_1061
This is one of our local star but this one is quite small anyway.

Now any astronomers in here can comment about this? I have to send it to Canberra or Coonabarabran stations to have a look whats with those locations. This describes the location where i saw.

[Star_Scream]

Of course!!!

Here is my description of what i saw.
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e376/mattweather/Supernova.jpg

That looks just like a supernova!!!