Supernova detection by ten-year-old young lady sets record

[alexaG]

The supernova found by a Canadian 10-year-old has put the girl in the record books as the most youthful ever to accomplish such a feat. Jan. 2 Kathryn Aurora Gray found the supernova making observations at her home in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Her father, who has also discovered supernovas, assisted within the search. Even the most seasoned astronomers think about the detection of supernovas, which are very uncommon, a career highlight. This young lady might have a fantastic future and not have to take out any unsecured loans for college if she continues this path. Source for this article - New Years Eve supernova discovered by 10-year-old Canadian girl by Personal Money Store.



Supernova discovery



On New Year's Eve, Kathryn Aurora Gray took some images of the sky with her father's telescope which lead her to discover the supernova scanning images. Astronomers detect supernovas using a computer program that compares images of a portion of sky with previously taken images of the same area. There is a bright flash that outshines the stars around it when a supernova explodes. Even if it wasn't there before, it will appear to be in the sky. Near the Abbey Ridge Observatory the night sky images were taken by Kathryn. The galaxy UGC 3378 which is about 240 million light years from earth is where the supernova was found.



Astronomer gets lucky



When compared to other astronomers, the discovery Kathryn made was better than others her age could make. After learning that the youngest person who ever found a supernova was a 14 year old, she decided she wanted to study too which she has been doing for about a year. After finding the star, Kathryn decided to share the credit with her father. Her father is Paul Gray who found six supernovas within the past already.



Not too far away is a supernova



Astronomers study supernovas because their blasts spew chemical elements billions of miles into space that eventually coalesce into planets. It was 240 million years ago that the supernova exploded that Kathryn found. As far as we have found, the last supernova in the Milky Way galaxy to explode was 140 years ago. That's a long time. Remnants of an explosion were found by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory which is an orbiting telescope although nobody on Earth observed it. In about 1680 the last known supernova within the Milky Way exploded.



Information from



MSNBC


Christian Science Monitor


Discovery News

[Lexy]

that's awesome, good for her!