Westmont's Telescope Captures Supernova

Westmont’s Keck Telescope has confirmed the existence of a supernova, discovered this week by astronomical investigators Jack Newton and Tim Puckett in the course of the Puckett Observatory Supernova Search.

Within 48 hours of receiving a communication from Puckett about the discovery, Michael Sommermann, Westmont physics professor, spent several early morning hours imaging Supernova 2008an.

The supernova is clearly visible in one of the spiral arms of UGC 10936, a galaxy about 400 million light years away. The typical galaxy contains on the order of 100 billion stars. Sommermann says that Supernova 2008an appears so bright in the CCD image, that it shines with the power of several billion stars.

“Astronomers are interested in this because supernovas are like standard candles that allow us to determine distances in the universe,” Sommermann says.

He says that it’s also exciting because it demonstrates the college’s potential for future searches, collaborations with other astronomers and student research.

The Keck Telescope, a 24-inch F/8 Cassegrain reflector with Ritchey-Chretien optics, is one of the most powerful on California’s Central Coast. The images were captured with a CCD camera from Apogee Instruments.