Last month, UC Berkeley scientist Peter Nugent received some data from the Mount Palomar telescope that raised his pulse rate. Nugent, senior scientist at the four-year sky survey called the Palomar Transient Factory, conducted by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the university, immediately forwarded the coordinates of the object he'd found to colleagues for confirmation.
What Nugent and his fellows had come across was the beginning of a supernova, and their early detection, plus the object's relative nearness to our system, means that you have a once-in-a-lifetime front row seat to a true cosmic blowout tonight.
Anyone with decent binoculars or a telescope can see the supernova just above and to the left of the last two stars in the "handle" of the Big Dipper. The object has been growing steadily brighter since its discovery in August and should reach its peak and begin to fade rapidly tonight or tomorrow.
The last time a supernova occurred this close to us was 1972, before that, 1937.
Don't miss this chance to see a huge, dense gasball self-immolate and dwindle.
Then, after Michele Bachmann's speech, watch the supernova.
Links:
Daily Californian
BBC
Reuters