snip~
A blazing-bright object appears to be the most luminous supernova ever witnessed, and it's blowing the top off researchers' models of how such explosions are powered.

When certain stars reach the end of their fuel supply, or gain a sudden influx of new material, they explode into a brilliant last stand called a supernova. This new object appears to be 200 times more powerful than the most commonly found type of supernova, likely belonging to a rare class of "super-luminous supernovas."



An artist's illustration visualizes what it would be like to see the supernova from an exoplanet located about 10,000 light years away. Wayne Rosing

more @
http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/innovation/most-powerful-supernova-ever-discovered-blasts-away-competition-n496686

I find these stories interesting for other reasons than do the researchers.
Here we are looking 200 million years in the past watching what amounts to as a candle on a ship out to sea on a stormy night and trying to deduce it's composition, be it on an island, or the window in the captains quarters, as if any of that is relevant.
The information we glean from it comes down to hearing a cannon go ff in the distance under stormy skies next to an active volcano.
We can only postulate on what we can never in our existence see up close and personal observe in real time live motion.
We're looking a the smoke of an ancient campfire by early man.

Quote from: Solar on January 15, 2016, 05:42:05 AM
I find these stories interesting for other reasons than do the researchers.
Here we are looking 200 million years in the past watching what amounts to as a candle on a ship out to sea on a stormy night and trying to deduce it's composition, be it on an island, or the window in the captains quarters, as if any of that is relevant.
The information we glean from it comes down to hearing a cannon go ff in the distance under stormy skies next to an active volcano.
We can only postulate on what we can never in our existence see up close and personal observe in real time live motion.
We're looking a the smoke of an ancient campfire by early man.

Actually Solar we are watching even less than that on scale as large as the universe.

But I get what your saying, the really neat trick is, the way we do that I think.

I find it absolutely amazing that based upon analysis of the light itself we can determine what elements are present and what elements aren't.

But you are right, on the cosmic scale this is a minor, minor event, and something that took place long before there even was an animal called Man to see it.

Quote from: daidalos on January 16, 2016, 01:25:43 PM
Actually Solar we are watching even less than that on scale as large as the universe.

But I get what your saying, the really neat trick is, the way we do that I think.

I find it absolutely amazing that based upon analysis of the light itself we can determine what elements are present and what elements aren't.

But you are right, on the cosmic scale this is a minor, minor event, and something that took place long before there even was an animal called Man to see it.

Yes, it is worse, because we haven't a clue as to what we missed. Even the vast distance can filter particles we may yet discover, particles that dissipate over time, maybe some are attracted to others, or becoming absorbed by radiation or who knows what, we just don't know, all we know is what we, on a small scale can deduce from what little we already know.

Man thinks he has a grasp on the cosmos around him, when in truth, we know next to nothing by comparison.
Hell, for all we know, a few hundred light years away from here, nothing may not even exist, we simply don't know and I believe it's by design that we remain ignorant and unable to touch the face of God.