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Question about stars (the ones in the sky)

Thomas Micklewright

By Thomas Micklewright
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Thomas Micklewright

Thomas Micklewright

Posted
Posted

The other night I was in Wittering (south coast) and saw about 8 shooting stars, what I believe to be 3 satelites and also saw a very bright star grow brighter, and then dim and then disappear.


Was that a star dying?


Just wondering if there are any ED astonomers that could help?


Thanks


Thomas

mockney piers

mockney piers

Posted
Posted

I think you're describing a supernova. I don't think it would happen that quickly as the matter would be visible for quite some time (days to weeks).

In fact had a quick swizz on Nasa to see if there have been any recent ones, and there have been but not visible as described by you, in fact one of them was detected 400 years after one bright enough to be seen by the naked eye did occur.


Was there a distant house on a dark cliff that looked like it was in the sky where there was a lad playing with a dimmer switch in one of the rooms perhaps?

DulwichFox

DulwichFox

Posted
Posted

Thomas Micklewright Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> The other night I was in Wittering (south coast)

> and saw about 8 shooting stars, what I believe to

> be 3 satelites and also saw a very bright star

> grow brighter, and then dim and then disappear.

>

> Was that a star dying?

>

> Just wondering if there are any ED astonomers that

> could help?

>

> Thanks

>

> Thomas


Simple answer is No...


Stars take millions of years to die out and are not visible even before they die.


When a star 'dies' (by that I mean when there are no more nuclear fusion reactions going on in it), it can take three different forms. Depending on the initial mass of the star, it will become either a white dwarf, a neutron star or a black hole.


You can immediately rule out seeing black holes because they don't emit any light, and neutron stars because they are too small. This leaves us with white dwarfs, which are the larger of the three possible end products for stars. Unfortunately, you will not be able to see even the brightest white dwarf.


More detail...

Here

red devil

red devil

Posted
Posted

...or had you previously been staring at a lightbulb* for an unhealthily long time?...


http://us.cdn3.123rf.com/168nwm/mylifeiscamp/mylifeiscamp0906/mylifeiscamp090600020/4981953-male-portrait-staring-at-new-light-bulb-isolated-on-black-background.jpg


*energy saving/eco-conscious of course

Huguenot

Huguenot

Posted
Posted

I can't get the fly-by details for last week, but these are the times that the ISS is visible in Wittering over the next few nights, along with other satellites.


For those of you in East Dulwich, here are the times satellites are visible in ED.


The ISS is the second brightest thing in the sky after the moon, and it flies by every 90 minutes. However most of the time at night it'll be in the Earths shadow.


What Thomas Mickelwright will have seen is the transition from sunlight to shadow.

PeckhamRose

PeckhamRose

Posted
Posted
Indeed a great website. I also remember hearing about an App you can download so that if you are in the countryside or at least the night sky full of stars is very bright, you aim your iPhone camera at it and the App will tell you what is what as a result of what the camera can see. But I don't have time to find that for you. Sorry!
siousxiesue

siousxiesue

Posted
Posted

PeckhamRose Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Indeed a great website. I also remember hearing

> about an App you can download so that if you are

> in the countryside or at least the night sky full

> of stars is very bright, you aim your iPhone

> camera at it and the App will tell you what is

> what as a result of what the camera can see. But

> I don't have time to find that for you. Sorry!


I've got this app! One of very few I was interested in, called Google Sky Map-just love it....

LHemphillix

LHemphillix

Posted
Posted
Just a little more astronomical nerdiness. It probably wasn't a supernova, but if it was, then it also doesn't represent a star dying now but rather one dying a long time ago. The Milky Way galaxy is about 100,000 light years in diameter, which means that the light from that star, if it was a star, could take tens of thousands of years to reach the earth. Of course if it was the ISS then whatever was happening with it was much more recent.
GrahamP

GrahamP

Posted
Posted

I have found this site to be excellent for watching the ISS.


http://esa.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=25544&lat=51.517&lng=-0.105&loc=London&alt=18&tz=GMT


Shows a map of the night sky plus the ground track. Just need some clear nights in the next week or two.

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