Dublin astronomer finds supernova
An amateur astronomer was about to turn in for bed when he made Ireland's first discovery of a "supernova" exploding star from his back garden.
Tuesday, 05 October 2010
Dave Grennan, 39, said he was about to finish up a night's stargazing when he spotted the 290 million-year-old spectacle in the heavens over his home in Raheny, north Dublin.
"I was going to wrap things up and go to bed, and then I thought, 'Dave you don't make discoveries in bed - at least not those sort of discoveries,'" he said.
Mr Grennan and his wife Carol cracked open some champagne after the supernova was officially confirmed by international astronomy authorities.
"She was more excited about this discovery than I was. She was over the moon," he said.
The software developer, who works for state transport company CIE, said he still has not come down off cloud nine.
Mr Grennan made the discovery - which is being hailed as "momentous" by Irish astronomers - using a powerful telescope in the early hours of Saturday 17 September.
Praising his wife's understanding, he said he spends all his spare time on his hobby and has scoured thousands of galaxies over the past 10 years looking for something new.
Examining and re-examining each one, Mr Grennan eventually found the phenomenon which has been given the official designation as "supernova 2010 IK".
While planets can be named, the fleeting supernovae are registered according to the year.
David Moore, chairman of Astronomy Ireland, said it was an unusual supernova that would have scientists around the world turning billions of euro worth of equipment on to the discovery.
"This is the biggest thing ever discovered in Irish astronomy," he said.
Mr Moore said a nuclear bomb would be smaller than a "gnat hitting the windscreen of a billion juggernauts" compared to the scale of the exploding star.
"We could not find words to explain it, I've been waiting for this to happen for decades," he said.
Professor Stephen Smartt, of Queen's University Belfast, confirmed it was the first supernova to be discovered from Irish soil.
The astronomy expert said exploding stars are discovered by "supernova-chasers" almost every day but it was unusual to find one in northern Europe.
The celestial spectacle is expected to remain visible with the use of a powerful telescope for about two to three months before fading away.
Two years ago, Mr Grennan discovered an asteroid - a minor planet just three metres wide - and named it after his late mother Catherine Griffin, who encouraged his interest in the stars when he was a boy.
© Press Association