Taking a Picture of a Supernova While Setting Up a New Camera

Re:Taking a Picture of a Supernova While Setting Up a New Ca... by rdiddly on Wednesday February 21, 2018 @03:52PM (#16432882)

Putting a damper on the feeling of immediacy the writer seems to have built into the piece, that star flamed out some 80 million years ago during our Cretaceous Period when T Rex, Triceratops et al roamed the earth!

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Re:Taking a Picture of a Supernova While Setting Up a New Ca... by netcraft on Wednesday February 21, 2018 @04:07PM (#16432983)

While thats true, if the photographer had been a few days earlier or later their timing wouldnt have been right - so it is very much an immediate thing.

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Re:Taking a Picture of a Supernova While Setting Up a New Ca... by mikekchar on Wednesday February 21, 2018 @09:05PM (#16434640)

Yes, but T Rex, et al never made a note about it. Bloody typical! That's why it was such a last minute fiasco to take the picture. It's a miracle it got done, to be honest. Quite a bit like my job in some respects...

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Re:Taking a Picture of a Supernova While Setting Up a New Ca... by dredmorbius on Thursday February 22, 2018 @07:29AM (#16437065)

Simultinaity is relative.

http://visualrelativity.com/LIGHTCONE/minkowski.html

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Re:Taking a Picture of a Supernova While Setting Up a New Ca... by quickthrower2 on Wednesday February 21, 2018 @11:35PM (#16435177)

Does 80 million light years mean 80 million years ago? If the star is moving away from us fast...

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Re:Taking a Picture of a Supernova While Setting Up a New Ca... by Cthulhu_ on Thursday February 22, 2018 @07:49AM (#16437179)

I think so; while it is moving away from us, 80 million years ago it exploded and sent its light our way. Because it's moving away from us, the light is stretched out a bit, causing red shift, allowing us to have a good idea of distance / time.

I don't know how far the remains have traveled from us since then though.

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