Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Telescope Solves Mystery After 2,000 Years



Two NASA telescopes helped discover a supernova in space that has been a mystery for over 2,000 years. In 185 AD, CHinese astronauts witnessed a "guest star" appear in the sky for over 8 months. In 1960 scientists determined that this was an observation of a supernova that signaled the violent death of a distant star. Views from NASA'S Spitzers Space Telepscope and Wide-field Infared Survey Explorer determined that the star's explosion detonated inside a gas free and dust free region in space. This allowed the supernova to travel much farther away.


I chose to write about this even because it seemed interesting that over 2,000 years scientisits, with the help of telescopes, could solve a mystery of a supernova. It is cool to see that activity in space can take place for a long period of time. Although the supernova took place a far distance away, its neat to learn that we have the teachnology to see these types of things far, far away form us.

3 comments:

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  2. That is very interesting that 2,000 years ago Chinese astrologers could make just a big discovery. It is amazing that with our technology we can see a supernova that is light years away.

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  3. honestly, i just liked the picutre lol

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