Irish amateur astronomer Dave Grennan has done it again, discovering his third supernova from his back garden in Raheny, Dublin.
The the new ‘Type 1c’ supernova was spotted nearly two weeks ago. Its existence was only confirmed yesterday (April 27, 2014) by a team of professional astronomers in China and the discovery announced by the International Astronomical Union.
It has been named “Supernova 2014as”.
Dave says the supernova happened 170 million years ago in the NGC 5410 galaxy over 170 quadrillion miles away (170 million light years).
Supernova 2014as in NGC 5410
“It was 11 o’clock at night when I actually got the first look at this and by 1am I was fairly certain and at that time of night there was nothing else for it but a strong cup of tea,” he said.
“What excites me about this one this time is the telescope – I built it myself, right down to the polishing of the lenses.”
Dave’s success rate is all the more significant as Ireland only averages six to 12 clear skies a month and the nights from May to August are too bright to hunt for celestial phenomena.
A professional software developer, he’s written a specific computer programme with complex algorithms and criteria to allow his telescopes to target certain galaxies at certain times even if he is not in the observatory. He then reviews hundreds of images with the naked eye.
“I don’t think I could do this if I had kids, but now when I think about it maybe it would be beneficial enough if I was up half the night and bottle feeding,” he said.
“But one of the misconceptions is that I’m out there in the freezing cold and dark with a big coat on me looking through a telescope at the night sky – sometimes, or most of the time, when I’m looking for these things I’m inside watching the television.”
Astronomers study supernovae to try to learn more about the age of the universe and its likely final outcome.
Dave’s first supernova discovery came four years ago when he became the first person to discover a supernova from Ireland.
Two years later, in 2012, he found another. At the time, he was contacted by Lomonosov Moscow State University which admitted its scientists had failed to pick up on the discovery weeks earlier.
Dave’s 36cm Schmidt Cassegrain telescope
While Dave discovered his first supernova in 2010, that wasn’t his first-ever discovery. In 2008, he discovered an asteroid – a minor planet three metres wide – and named it after his late mother, Catherine Griffin, who encouraged his interest in the stars when he was a boy.
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Filed under: Amateur Astronomy
