Type Ia Supernova in M82

M82, a very close by "starburst" galaxy, just had a Type Ia supernova go off a few days ago.  This is the closest Type Ia in a long time.

http://www.universetoday.com/108386/bright-new-supernova-blows-up-in-nearby-m82-the-cigar-galaxy/

Your Blogs

Here is a list of your fellow student's blogs:

Gerardo Alvarez
Javier Fajardo
Melina Fuentes
Te-En Lee
Vincent Luong
Salvador Martinez
Jacob McNevin
Hieu Nguyen
Oscar Osario
Ziqi Pi
Ethan Roeder
John Stephens

Interactive Scale of the Universe

Here's a nice interactive graphic attempting to help you visualize the massive range of scales of the universe.  As you zoom in and out, the scale is on the bottom, right (as an exponential).  There are a few inaccuracies (the galaxies in the Hubble Deep Field were NOT 12.7 billion light years away 12.7 billion years ago).  But the graphics are really nice.  Zoom out!  Our class deals with everything > 10^7 meters across. 

Prof.'s Research in the News

Here is the press release from the Space Telescope Science Institute (the place that runs the Hubble Space Telescope).