25 January 2014
Supernova in Cigar Galaxy (M82)
For those of you with telescopes who might enjoy the opportunity to see/ photograph a supernova, point your scope in the direction of M82.
Several excellent images of the supernova have already been captured by amateur astronomers in Caithness -
The CAG Chairman Gordon Mackie even has a pre-discovery image of the supernova.
It may look like a faint star in the sky, but just remember that in this case you are seeing starlight from a single star located 12 million light years away, and in a life ending explosion is shining with a similar light output to that of a small galaxy!
