Supernova Light Echoes Discussion
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Presenter : Peter Hoeflich
Assigned Reading
- Carroll & Ostlie: Intro to Astro, Chap. 15/16
- Astronomy Magazine Article
Discussion
Why are we interested in the 'old' stuff ?
What's the basic idea and ansatz?
The basic idea is that light from a supernova explosion can run into interstellar dust, causing the light to be reflected and allowing it to be observed from Earth years after the SN has first been observed.
Why did it take so long for observes to see them ?
What are classification and signatures, and how do they relate to the underlying stellar explosion ?
Can we expect to see extra-galactic light echos ???
I doubt it, we'd need to resolve the sections of dust at the correct distance from the SN whose echoes we're looking for to see it's spectra apart from the spectra of surrounding material. Even in the closest galaxies, getting that good a resolution seems unlikely.
What is the future potential ??