Posted on 04/05/2013 6:16:40 AM PDT by Red Badger
Might also answer poser: 'If supernovae were popcorn...'
NASA's Hubble telescope has spotted the most distant massive star explosion of its kind ever, one which could help boffins understand the very fabric of the universe. Hubble view of supernova SN Wilson
The telescope picked out Supernova UDS10Wil, also known as SN Wilson, in the night sky. The star apparently blew up over 10 billion years ago, and the resulting light from the explosion took that long to reach Earth.
Wilson is in the special class of Type Ia supernovae, which give astroboffins a consistent level of brightness that can be used to measure the expansion of space and also help with deductions about the nature of dark energy.
"This new distance record holder opens a window into the early universe, offering important new insights into how these stars explode," said astronomer David Jones of Johns Hopkins University, lead author on the paper detailing the discovery.
The find is only four per cent more distant than the last record holder, though that's still 350 million years farther back in time. Discovering Type Ia supernovae this early in the universe's life allows astroboffins to figure out which of two competing explosion models are correct. In one model, the explosion is caused by two white dwarf stars merging and in another, one white dwarf feeds off its partner, a normal star, until it greedily accretes too much mass and explodes.
"If supernovae were popcorn, the question is how long before they start popping?" Adam Riess of Space Telescope Science Institute asked. "You may have different theories about what is going on in the kernel. If you see when the first kernels popped and how often they popped, it tells you something important about the process of popping corn."
The evidence so far shows a sharp decline in the rate of Type Ia supernova blasts roughly 7.5 billion years ago and more than 10 billion years ago. The drop-off favours the theory that the explosions are caused by white dwarfs merging, because it predicts that most stars in the early universe are too young to become Type Ia supernovae.
Figuring out the trigger for these explosions will also show how quickly the universe enriched itself with heavier elements such as iron, one of the raw materials for building planets and life.
The team's results will be published in an upcoming issue of The Astrophysical Journal.
Maybe we should name it “CLARISSA”.......
Astroboffins Type 1A supernova Ping!..........
Explain everything? Well, sure I can. You know, we can’t bust heads like we used to, but we have our ways. One trick is to tell ‘em stories that don’t go anywhere - like the time I caught the ferry over to Shelbyville. I needed a new heel for my shoe, so, I decided to go to Morganville, which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on ‘em. “Give me five bees for a quarter,” you’d say.
Now where were we? Oh yeah: the important thing was I had an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time. They didn’t have white onions because of the war. The only thing you could get was those big yellow ones...
LOL! One of the greatest soliloquies of all time! OK, not really, but it made me laugh.
Romans 1:22
Professing themselves to be wise they became FOOLS.
It doesn't explain EVERYTHING. It doesn't explain the recent overuse of the word "boffins" by the press.
Really. OK smarty boffins. Explain women.
You graduated from the Hemingway School of Literary Arts, I see.................
She explained "it all," not everything. There's a difference. 
Alright, now that is kind of funny.
Explain everything with the popcorn theory?
Not likely. Watch this!
http://www.thunderbolts.info/wp/2013/03/19/supernova-defies-astronomical-theory-space-news/
I wonder how many of us here can name the original speaker
But, but, but ...
The Universe is only 6K years old?
Or is that just the Earth, and the Universe is 6K+5 days old?
I’m confused.
Was there something in the article that suggested these scientists were attempting to draw conclusions about creation that goes beyond the role of science, or are we simply to take Romans 1:22 as an instruction to oppose all science?
Perhaps they are Christians. Perhaps their study of astronomy is motivated out of a desire to enhance their (and our) understanding of another part of the same chapter. Romans 1:20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made.
I simply do not see where the scientists were "professing themselves to be wise" or where it is acceptable to call them fools.
Very interesting. Thanks for posting.
Now if they determined that it was a Higgs boson particicle- now that would answer some questions.
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