Comments on: AAS Report #3: Things that go boom!

By: Laurence

Laurence — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 05:13:35 +0000

I’m a guy who barely passed high-school algebra and physics, but I have a basic understanding of how the universe works, the speed of light as a constant, etc. What I’d like to know is whether gravity has a “speed.”
That is, when a star explodes, is the gravitational effect of that event felt instantaneously by all the objects near enough to be measurably effected, or is there a time lag before the nearest star knows by the effect on its path through space that its neighbor has exploded?

By: Hubble’s impact | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine

Hubble’s impact | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:14:36 +0000

[...] 1) We’ve watched the evolution of the supernova 1987A from just three years after it detonated to the present. We’ve seen the changes in the supernova debris at it has expanded, and we’re seeing the impact — literally — of it on the surrounding ring of material. It’s that ring that I studied to get my degree, which is why I thought of this particular example right away. We also saw that the supernova is surrounded by three rings, which made it unique… until more objects like it were found using Hubble and Spitzer. [...]

By: Astrolink [English Edition] » Episode 20: What We Learned from the American Astronomical Society

Mon, 19 Mar 2007 19:16:39 +0000

[...] Phil Plait on the news release and type Ia supernovae. [...]

By: Astronomy Cast

Astronomy Cast — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 23:23:23 +0000

[...] Phil Plait on the news release and type Ia supernovae. [...]

By: Kyle

Kyle — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 00:35:52 +0000

Can anyone track down when the AAS plenaries will be on iTunes, and if they will be free?

By: Cyde Weys Musings » Worst rollout of a software update ever?

Cyde Weys Musings » Worst rollout of a software update ever? — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 20:05:38 +0000

[...] It really sucks when your spacecraft is taken out, man. Still, I don’t have it as bad as Phil Plait, who spent years investigating supernovae remnants and had a good lead on one that had never been photographed in detail yet, but never followed up on it — and thus missed getting one of Hubble’s most iconic and recognizable images named after him. [...]

By: Jay Solis

Jay Solis — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 23:14:53 +0000

@Donnie B.
I think these say it best

From the Angry Astronomer:
The area cleared out by the supernova looks like it will expand into the pillars in about 1000 years. However, given that it takes light 7,000 years to reach Earth from this region, that means that the pillars were actually destroyed 6,000 years ago.

From Space.com:
Astronomers think the supernova’s shock wave knocked the pillars down about 6,000 years ago. But because the Eagle Nebula is located some 7,000 light years away, the majestic pillars will appear intact to observers on Earth for another 1,000 years or so.