Catch An Exploding Star

If it's not cloudy or rainy where you live, go outside tonight with a pair of good binoculars or a cheap telescope and take a gander at the biggest supernova to be visible in decades.  You will witness the vestiges of an exploding star just above the Big Dipper constellation.

 
Why do scientists think this SuperduperNova is so important?  Well, for one thing, it will measure the fun fact of just how fast the universe is disintegrating out from under us.  Astronomers will be able to take measurements to determine if some mysterious dark energy force is literally pushing galaxies apart.  Although they say they don't quite know what this force is, they have determined it constitutes almost three-quarters of the universe itself.

This week's sky show is actually the remnants of what is called a white dwarf star that exploded 21 million years ago in the Pinwheel Galaxy, and is just now becoming visible to earthlings.

Think of SuperNovas as politicians. They shine brightly for awhile, and quickly fade away, because in reality they've been empty shells for eons. The Michele Bachman star actually sputtered and imploded right before our very eyes last night. Rick Perry is a vestige waiting to happen. Barack Obama lost his star power long ago, and his jobs plan coupled his safety net-cutting Grand Plan may well be an astronomical disaster. (read Dave Dayen). Watch Obama's warm-up act for the debut of football season tonight if you dare -- and then gaze skyward, pondering the inponderable: how can such a passionate voice be the smokescreen for such destructively tepid ideas? 


(Reuters)