Starship Asterisk*

A few years back I constructed a composite image from a whole bunch of Hubble photos and came up with this:



-Noel

Hi everyone,

I'm posting here for the first time (and possibly the last ) because this post about Supernova 1987A brings back a memory I've always had - and a question.

I was born in 1977, November 5th and I live in France. When I was a kid, I remember that one night when my mother was driving me to the doctor for a routine injection, I saw a very bright star in the sky. It wasn't a plane or something like that : it didn't move, was MUCH brighter than any other star, and it lasted for several days (or hours ? this I can't remember precisely). I remember that even though I was young and didn't know a lot about space, I wondered at the time if this thing could be a supernova.

Today as I read this article on APOD, I was surprised to know that such a thing happened in 1987 because the dates match ! When Supernova 1987A was discovered I was 9 years old, at the time I was still getting anti-allergic shots every once in a while ; I was also old enough to have a basic knowledge of what a "supernova" was, hence the questioning and the striking memory I kept of this event.

Now my question is : did I see Supernova 1987A, or was it totally unrelated ? Just the date isn't evidence enough but I'm sure you guys can tell me if this event could be seen by the naked eye or not (if it ever was visible in the northern hemisphere, which I have no clue of).

I'm no expert in astronomy but I've always been interested in it, and this very bright and durable "star" I saw as a kid has always been a vivid memory of mine. To find out that I did, in fact, see a supernova back then would be simply amazing !

... Anyone ?

Since my post, I have digged a little deeper and it would seem that Supernova 1987A is in a constellation visible in the SOUTH hemisphere. Which would indicate that I couldn't have seen it from my country...

Pezito wrote:... Anyone ? :?

Since my post, I have digged a little deeper and it would seem that Supernova 1987A is in a constellation visible in the SOUTH hemisphere. Which would indicate that I couldn't have seen it from my country... :oops:

Correct. With a declination of -69°, this supernova could only be seen by people south of about +21°. It was certainly not visible from anywhere in France.

Thanks for your reply !