Supernova

1. Supernova 1987A is the first star explosion ever to be studied from its beginning.
2. scientists believe that supernovas are  responsible for a large portion of important elements found on Earth, such as oxygen, carbon and even the iron in human blood.
3. Scientists are hoping to discover the energetic event impacts the environment around the supernova and how that interaction might be representative of the other supernovae in the universe.
4. A supernova explosion is something where you see a star that you hadn't seen before suddenly turn billions of times brighter than it was. 
5. An exploding star ends up either as a neutron star that is as dense as an atomic nucleus and the size of a big city, or it ends up as a black hole where gravity is so strong, even light cannot escape. 
6. Just this week, scientists announced that a supernova they were watching (SN1979C) may have turned into a black hole. 
7. A star that become a supernove is at least nine times the size of our sun. 
8. Supernova 1987A exploded is the nearest exploding star to be discovered since 1604, in the nearest galaxy to the Milky Way.
9. The Hubble telescope was launched into outer space in 1990.
10.  String of pearls are made up of gas material that the star released before exploding.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Do you think it’s important to study phenomena in space like supernovae and black holes? Why or why not?  
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3.  It is important to study phenomena in space because the scientists that are working on it find information that can be important for us to know if something will happen soon or how long the sun will stay until it explodes or something like that.
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5. Why do you think ‘backyard astronomers’ like the one who found this supernova are often the first ones make discoveries? Have you ever looked through a telescope? How would you be able to tell whether a something new had appeared in space? 
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8. Backyard astronomers are often the first ones to make discoveries because they work with it everyday. i have never looked through a telescope. If they check everyday they can maybe see if something new is there or if something is different.
   
9. Why does it take light from an exploding star so long to reach Earth? Why is it impossible to know everything that is going on in space in ‘real time’?  
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11.  light from an exploding star takes light years to reach earth because on stars are close to it. There's impossible to know everything about what is happening in space because the space is enormous and it keeps expanding as we speak.
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13. What methods do scientists have for observing phenomena that occur millions of lightyears away? 
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15. The scientists have a telescope in space that they can use to see things that have happend lightyears ago.

links used:
NASA hubble site http://hubble.nasa.gov/overview/intro.php