Nathan Gray , a 10 - year - old boy from Greenwood , Nova Scotia , Canada , distinguish a supernova in the field of the coltsfoot PGC 61330 which lies in the configuration of Draco ( the dragon ) . The discovery has been confirmed by theRoyal Astronomical Society of Canada ( RASC ) . Nathan is the son of RASC member Paul Gray , and may mop up his sister , Kathryn Aurora Gray , to the deed of conveyance of untried supernova discoverer , by 33 days .
The supernova was envision in the other morn hours of October 30 , 2013 and see the next eve by Nathan Gray . He made the find while scanning astronomical images taken byDave Lane , who tend the Abby Ridge Observatory ( ARO ) in Nova Scotia . Lane spread the dome and took an figure that confirmed that the new star was still there . This is done to ensure the supernova was not an simulacrum artifact or an asteroid ; an asteroid would have moved .
Gray ’s uncovering has been confirmed byUS and Italian observers , and has been post on the International Astronomical Union ’s site . It has the provisional name of PSN J18032459 + 7013306 ; to get an prescribed supernova designation a tumid telescope want to confirm the supernova signature via a spectrum .
Nathan ’s sister , Kathryn Aurora Gray , became internationally recognised in January 2011 whenshe discovered Supernova 2010ltin the galaxy UGC 3378 , in the constellation of Camelopardalis . The find eventually earned heran audiencewith astronauts Neil Armstrong , Bill Anders ( Apollo 8) , Victor Gorbakto , and Jim Lovell ( Apollo 8 & 13 ) . The galaxy , which is about 240 million light - years off , was imaged on New Year ’s Eve 2010 , and the supernova was discovered on January 2 , 2011 byKathryn and her father Paul .
Supernovaeare starring detonation that go on at the oddment of life for champion more massive than our Sun . They are bigger than novae , which is the state of matter our Sun will reach at the end of its life . Supernovae can be triggered in two ways : either by the sudden reignition of atomic fusion in a stocky star ; or by the collapse of the essence of a massive star . Supernovae produce most of the chemical elements integral to the formation of Earth and other wandering body . They can also be used to count on the size and age of our universe . These explosion can be so energetic that they can be mention in remote galaxies . Nathan Gray ’s newly discovered supernova could be up to 600 million light years away .
Supernovae are rarefied outcome however , and the last one known to occur in our galaxy wasseveral hundred years ago , before the telescope was invented . Supernovae are revealed by repeatedly checking many other extragalactic nebula , as a supernova is determined as a undimmed pointedness of light that was n’t there the last time the galaxy was observed .
Dave Laneis positive what the object they have discovered is a supernova . The aim has no motion , is at a large distance from the astronomic plane , they have several ocular confirmations , and it also has a very close angular proximity to a faint coltsfoot .
Nathan Gray was question by CBCradio about his find :
