Dave Grennan - First Supernova Discovery from Ireland

dmcdona

October is a good month for Irish Astronomers. Hot on the heels of his asteroid discovery in October 2008 and March 2009, Dave Grennan has done it yet again in 2010!

This is the first Supernova discovery from Ireland - yes, Irish astronomy is alive and thriving. From a personal point of view, I can't think of a better reward for all the effort Dave has put in over the years - the work he has done for Amateur Astronomy in Ireland has been immense. The help he gives selflessly to other amateurs is comendable. So, his first, and Ireland's first, Supernova discovery is a just reward indeed. Many many congratulations Dave!

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away a star exploded. 290 million years later the light from this exploding star known as a ‘Supernova’ was discovered by amateur astronomer David Grennan from his observatory in Raheny, North Dublin. This is the first time such a discovery has been made from Ireland.

Supernovae represent the cataclysmic failure of a star. Such explosions are unimaginably violent and not only represent the end of life for a Sun just like ours, but also a catastrophic end for any planets which may orbit this star. The consequences for any beings living on a planet where the parent star explodes like are naturally pretty dire.

Grennan’s discovery has yet to be named by the International Astronomical Union. Although his discovery was made during a search undertaken on September 17th , it is required that detailed confirmation must follow before being official announced.

“My initial discovery was confirmed by colleagues in the UK however more confirmation was required before the discovery could be announced” said Grennan.

Prof. Stephen Smartt and his team at Queen’s University Belfast analysed the light coming from the explosion using the 2.5metre Nordic Optical Telescope at La Palma in the Canaries. Prof. Smartt and his team confirmed the discovery as a ”type 1b/c” supernova meaning that the explosion was caused by one star ripping material from another. Prof. Smartt concluded that his analysis of this event shows it has peculiarities which mean this discovery may be of great interest to the scientific community.

Grennan goes on to describe his feelings following the find:

“Naturally I’m very excited at having made this discovery, especially since it’s a first for Ireland. I find myself wondering if there were some poor souls living on planets surrounding the star when it exploded. One thing is for sure, we’ll never know. The apparent unusual nature of this event makes it doubly exciting. It will be weeks and months before we know exactly what the true nature of this object is. Because of the vast distances involved this explosion took place over 290 million years ago, long before even the first dinosaurs walked the earth."

You can see an image here:
http://www.astroshack.net/images/SUSU112_J41.jpg

(Copyright Dave Grennan)

dmcdona

Dave's Supernova has been designated as 2010ik

www.cfa.harvard.edu/iau/lists/RecentSupernovae.html

ednwireland

congrats to dave just spotted it in the indo

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/champagne-supernova-2366415.html

bogwalrus

it looks like he has a big enough scope. would he have actually seen an explosion in real time through his scope (as in a big white thing getting bigger etc)?

wylo

not quite real time, theres a slight lag of 290million years....:D



Ill get my coat.

rccaulfield

Well done that man- saw it in the indo today! Is that the Dave from Astronomy Ireland?

gonker

It is indeed. He is on the 6.1 news I think too. Well done Dave!

Edit: He definitely is on the news!

WalterMitty

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/1006/1224280471995.html

Flukey

Well done Dave. Lots of publicity at home, abroad and in cyberspace for this all day. A good story for Irish astronomy.

slade_x

dmcdona wrote: »

Supernovae represent the cataclysmic failure of a star. Such explosions are unimaginably violent and not only represent the end of life for a Sun just like ours,

A remarkable achievement.

but our sun isnt a potential supernova candidate.

goose2005

dmcdona wrote: »

Supernovae represent the cataclysmic failure of a star. Such explosions are unimaginably violent and not only represent the end of life for a Sun just like ours, but also a catastrophic end for any planets which may orbit this star. The consequences for any beings living on a planet where the parent star explodes like are naturally pretty dire.

Could we name the supernova "Angloirish"?

Kersh

Well done Dave. Seen it on the news. Nice piece of kit :eek:

Gremlin

goose2005 wrote: »

Could we name the supernova "Angloirish"?

It's a supernova not a black hole (yet)

Hi All, Dave Grennan here, the supernova discoverer. I just wanted to drop by and say thanks for the kind words. It's been a really exciting few days. Thanks also to the OP Dave McDonald for sharing the news and for all his help and encouragement while we were waiting for this discovery to be confirmed.

Best Wishes,

Dave.

AlmightyCushion

Congrats on the discovery, Dave. It's good to see Irish astronomy is still alive and kicking.

whynotdo

Gremlin wrote: »

It's a supernova not a black hole (yet)

Hi All, Dave Grennan here, the supernova discoverer. I just wanted to drop by and say thanks for the kind words. It's been a really exciting few days. Thanks also to the OP Dave McDonald for sharing the news and for all his help and encouragement while we were waiting for this discovery to be confirmed.

Best Wishes,

Dave.

Saw and heard You on various Media Dave,honestly Your dedication to Your field of interest is amazing.

You have brought a sense of pride back to Ireland in these dark days.
I do not like the UK's system of OBE's etc, but on this occasion i wish We had one to recognise Your achievement(lot of long nights were all You got was disappointed i would guess:))

Seriously thank You for that lift to our spirits and hopefully planting the seed of interest to a new generation.
and hurry up with Your next discovery!:)

Your Country needs You!:)

Cú Giobach

Gremlin wrote: »

It's a supernova not a black hole (yet)

Hi All, Dave Grennan here, the supernova discoverer. I just wanted to drop by and say thanks for the kind words. It's been a really exciting few days. Thanks also to the OP Dave McDonald for sharing the news and for all his help and encouragement while we were waiting for this discovery to be confirmed.

Best Wishes,

Dave.

Well done, maith an fear.

Keep up the great work.

Cú Giobach

Looks like he's been at it again, well done Dave.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/astronomer-spots-second-supernova-165654936.html

Kersh

Super news,

Well done Dave.

Lots of hard work and perseverance paying off.

jfSDAS

Congratulations to Dave on his magnificent achievement. His skill and dedication has paid off in spades with this new discovery.

More details about the find are on Dave's homepage http://www.webtreatz.com/ -- I'd also recommend reading the article there about measuring the spectrum of a quasar, a remarkable feat of skill also.

John

the culture of deference

2 supernova's. what a record. well done dave

audio interview here

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9747000/9747292.stm

DubOnHoliday

Was delighted to read about the new discovery this morning, excellent work Dave.

MHalberstram

Is that the guy whose shed looks like something Hank Scorpio would have in his backyard, retractable roof and huge telescope if it's the same guy I'm thinking of (so jealous)

Popoutman

Hats off to you Dave. Well done