I think I saw a supernova this past tuesday night on July 25

[cyclonebuster]

I was out on my deck at the cabin in North Georgia that borders the national forest. It was very dark and no light pollution. I noticed a very bright light from a star that increased in its brightness at least a million fold and then it was gone and I could no longer see the star any more. It all lasted about ten seconds. It was right next to the big dippers handle just to the south of the two middle stars in the handle. Is there any way to verify this as a supernova? It was about 10:00 PM.

 

[doubletruncation]

It's almost certainly not a supernova. The timescale of what you saw is much too short. Supernovae take days to weeks to reach maximum brightness and then weeks to months to fade back again. It may have been an Iridium flash - you could check www.heavens-above.com to see if there were any iridium flashes in your area or other satellites. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[docm]

It's also possible that this was a meteor coming straight along his line of sight. I've seen a couple of these while out with my 'scopes and it's quite impressive. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[vogon13]

Iridium flash was the correct answer.<br /><br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>

 

[cyclonebuster]

Doesn't make sense. The star or object dissapeared after the flash and was there before the flash. I don't think it was a satellite since it was stationary and all the satellites I saw that night were moving along at a good clip. It was a very clear night and I saw about ten satellites in a two hour period.

 

[dragon04]

I'd be inclined to believe the iridium flash explanation myself.<br /><br />As it was previously stated, a supernova is a long lasting event. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em>"2012.. Year of the Dragon!! Get on the Dragon Wagon!".</em> </div>

 

[alokmohan]

There is international moniroring of supernova sighting.Dont bother.have sound sleep.No supernova.

 

[MeteorWayne]

It was almost certainly an Iridium flare. The time period of 10 seconds of high brightness is right. If you have binoculars, you can actually follow them before and after (it's much easier after the flare when you see where it is moving.) And while it appered not to, they are actually moving, but a bit more slowly than most satellites because they are in a higher orbit The real reason it appears not to move too much is because the bright flare is so short, unless there are nearby stars to compare the position with, it's hard to notice the motion. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[cyclonebuster]

No this thing had a halo around the center of it and then it was gone.Who knows it could still be there if someone put a telescope on it. It may not be bright enough for us to see with the naked eye anymore???

 

[cyclonebuster]

"It was almost certainly an Iridium flare. The time period of 10 seconds of high brightness is right. If you have binoculars, you can actually follow them before and after (it's much easier after the flare when you see where it is moving.) And while it appered not to, they are actually moving, but a bit more slowly than most satellites because they are in a higher orbit The real reason it appears not to move too much is because the bright flare is so short, unless there are nearby stars to compare the position with, it's hard to notice the motion. <br /><br />Klaatu Barada Nikto"<br /><br />I can tell you this it was not moving at all when compared to the others stars that were near it.<br /><br />

 

[MeteorWayne]

Fair enough, I can't say what you saw. I am only tossing out likely explanations.<br />However, the supernova theory just doesn't work, since they take days to evolve, not seconds.<br />A head on meteor is also a valid explanation, though much less likely than an Iridium flare.<br />Have you ever seen an Iridium flare? If you use the heavens-above site mentioned earlier in the thread, you can see quite a few, and therefore gain some experience in what they look like.<br /><br />MeteorWayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[vogon13]

In 1987, a supernova made the cover of Time magazine.<br /><br />Suppose there would be even a little media interest had there been a supernova on the 25th?<br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>

 

[hummingbird69]

It is a UFO <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" />

 

[3488]

I agree with Vogon13. It was an Iridium flash, no doubt. They can be bright enough for the sky to turn a reasonably bright blue for an instant. I have seen several recently here in the UK (a few very bright & most not so bright). Funnily enough I saw a very bright one only on Tuesday 1st August 2006, also near the handle of the Plough (just before it flaming well clouded over, although we are very desperate for a decent amount of rain here right now). <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[cyclonebuster]

OK what satellite was it from?

 

[MeteorWayne]

If you can tell us the name of the nearest town to the cabin, or the Latitude and Longitude (as accurately as possible) we can look it up for you. Iridium flares cover a very small area of the earth's surface so precision is important.<br /><br />MW <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>