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Discoveries using the telescopes on Mauna Kea
First Type 1a supernova detected by radio waves

Type 1a supernovae are well observed and act as "standard candles" in astronomy and cosmology as their luminosities are always the same. That means, if you can measure their brightness, you can work out how far away they are so can be used to measure the distance of distant galaxies and are an important part of the cosmic distance ladder; different techniques of measuring distances that rely on consistency and confirmation of the different steps. They have been used extensively to measure the expansion of the universe. They are also a bit different from what you might understand as a typical supernova, as they are caused by a runaway reaction in a white dwarf star due to material being pulled from a companion star which increases the mass beyond a critical limit, and the white dwarf explodes.

SN 2020eyj is a bit different. Firstly, it's the first that has been detected at radio wavelengths. Secondly, thanks to observations made at the Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea, it's the first to show that the supernova ejected massive amounts of helium rather than the usual hydrogen. This means the star it orbited was coming toward the end of its lifetime and had burned through its hydrogen fuel.

"A team of astronomers led by Stockholm University has discovered an unusual Type Ia supernova – or thermonuclear supernova – called SN 2020eyj. Not only did they make the first detection of such a supernova in radio waves, follow-up observations from W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island also showed strong emission lines of helium.

This marks the first confirmed Type Ia supernova triggered by a white dwarf star that pulled material from a companion star with an outer layer consisting primarily of helium; normally, in the rare cases where the material stripped from the outer layers of the donor star could be detected in spectra, this was mostly hydrogen.
"

https://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2023/...irst-time/

Also:
https://keckobservatory.org/radio-ia-supernova/
https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/news/...ia-origin/
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A new supernova in the Pinwheel galaxy has been imaged by the Gemini North Telescope after it operated again after repairs. You can read the details here:

https://www.gemini.edu/pr/gemini-north-b...eel-galaxy

and see an amazing image here:

https://noirlab.edu/public/media/archive...b2315a.jpg

In the meantime, Subaru data from 2015 has shown strong evidence of a pair-instability supernova from the very early universe. These are stars/supernovae that are well understood in theory but have never been observed before. They lack heavy elements as the early universe contained only the lightest of elements, so these are the stars that started the process of creating heavier elements where we all come from.

https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/pair-in...-evidence/
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Great image and links TomK.
The pinwheel galaxy is unreal, looks **a little** like recent nighttime shots of Kilauea, with the dotted orange glow across the crater.
In contrast to the high tech Gemini observatory in the first link, here’s a few photos of Koichi Itagaki’s amateur observatories in Japan.  He discovered the supernova just a few weeks ago. The article is in Italian, but scroll down for the view of his backyard cluster of observatory domes.

https://www.coelum.com/articoli/100-supe...hi-itagaki
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(06-08-2023, 06:19 AM)TomK Wrote: A new supernova in the Pinwheel galaxy has been imaged by the Gemini North Telescope after it operated again after repairs.


Who’s in charge of supernova repairs?   Big Grin
Puna:  Our roosters crow first!
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I guess I could have worded it a little better!
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I'm a little busy right now but thought I'd post this remarkable discovery using the Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea. An extremely distant supernova has been magnified and split into four beams of light by an intervening galaxy. I'll post a brief explanation later if anyone wants one.

https://www.keckobservatory.org/sn-zwicky/
https://bigislandnow.com/2023/06/14/seei...ying-star/
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-023-01981-3

Iron rain discovered using Gemini North on Mauna Kea?

https://www.gemini.edu/pr/gemini-north-d...-exoplanet
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My Hanai Daughter did this too with a flashlight for a school science contest a couple years ago. She won of corz. Support open minds, may they eventually find something practical to society to apply they talents to.
'e
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(06-15-2023, 09:27 AM)elepaio pid= Wrote:My Hanai Daughter did this too with a flashlight for a school science contest a couple years ago. She won of corz. Support open minds, may they eventually find something practical to society to apply they talents to.
'e

I'd be interested to know how she demonstrated gravitational lensing with a flashlight. This is one way you can do it with a wine glass:


https://youtu.be/vLp6CwElGP4
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Well, moving on from 'elepaio's inability to respond, we now have a new discovery of a Jupiter-sized planet orbiting a younger version of our sun which has been imaged directly. In other words, this system may be similar to our own solar system. This was done using the Keck II telescope on Mauna Kea.

Unlike this article which claims:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecarter...85fd332c77

"Published this week in Astrophysical Journal Letters, the researchers found the planet using a new technique called astrometry[...]"

astrometry is one of the oldest areas of modern astronomy, It's just that the techniques have improved so much in recent years that we are now able to detect and image planets around other stars.

https://www.keckobservatory.org/af-lep/

"“This is the first time this method has been used to find a giant planet orbiting a young analog of the Sun,” said Brendan Bowler, an assistant professor of astronomy at UT Austin and senior author on the study. “This opens the door to using this approach as a new tool for exoplanet discovery.”"
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moving on from 'elepaio's inability to respond

I think s/he's been busy. It takes time to introduce and advance programs for which today's youth can find something practical to society to apply they talents to.
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