Galaxy's youngest known supernova is 140 years old

[Xipe Totec]

Wed May 14, 7:59 PM ET

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Astronomers have discovered the youngest known supernova in the Milky Way galaxy, still just a baby at 140 years old. The scientists, who announced their findings Wednesday, used a radio observatory in New Mexico and NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory in space to identify when the supernova, or stellar, explosion occurred. They put the star-dying event at sometime around 1868.

Before this, the youngest supernova in the Milky Way was thought to have occurred around 1680.

A supernova is the catastrophic explosion of a star that releases an extraordinary amount of energy, enough to outshine an entire galaxy.

This new baby supernova is located near the center of the galaxy and obscured by dense gas and dust, making it virtually impossible to see in optical light.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080514/ap_on_sc/baby_supernova

[htuttle]

1. I'm a little confused about something

If this supernova was near the center of the galaxy, and it occurred 140 years ago, shouldn't it be invisible to us for another 26,000 years or so? Our sun is about 26,000 light years from where the supernova happened, if I'm figuring this correctly.

Or do they mean that light from the supernova (ie., when we saw it happen) first got to us 140 years ago, meaning it "actually" occurred 26,000 years ago?

?

[Xipe Totec]

2. Exactly. Light from the supernova first reached earth 140 years ago

The event happened 26,000 years ago.

Telescopes are time machines.

[daleo]

3. Yes, a supernova only 140 light years away

Might be pretty uncomfortable for the earth, though I am not sure how bad it would be.