50年來最亮超新星爆炸 英國境內可用望遠鏡觀看

There will be an once-in-a-lifetime event in the night sky over the next few days – as a star exploding 21 million light years away becomes so bright it will be visible through binoculars across Britain。

The supernova is predicted to reach its brightest between September 9 and 12, and will be the brightest since 1954, visible all over Britain, weather permitting. A team of scientists at Oxford University are tracking it using the Hubble Space Telescope。

50年來最亮超新星爆炸 英國境內可用望遠鏡觀看

Dr Mark Sullivan, the astrophysicist leading the Oxford team examining the supernova, said: "This is accessible to anyone with a decent pair of binoculars. For many it could be a once in a lifetime chance to see a supernova blossom and then fade before their eyes. We may not see another like it for over 100 years."

It will appear bluish-white, just above and to the left of the last two stars in the Big Dipper. Watchers are advised to stay away from street lights for maximum visibility.

The matter from the explosion will eventually form new stars and planets. Such events, which include one in five supernovae, provide scientists with essential information on how the universe expands。據英國《每日郵報》9月8日報道，在未來幾天，將會有一顆百年一遇的超行星在夜間爆炸，這顆行星距離地球2100萬光年，所以它極其明亮，只要在英國境內，使用雙筒望遠鏡就可以觀測到。

牛津大學的一隊科學家正在用哈勃太空望遠鏡跟蹤觀測這顆超新星，據他們預計，這顆超行星在9月9日到9月12日間最爲明亮。只要天氣好，這就是自1954年以來，在英國境內可見的最亮的一顆超新星。

帶領牛津大學超新星觀測隊的天體物理學家馬克•沙利文博士說：“只要用個合適的雙筒望遠鏡，每個人就都可以觀測到。觀看一顆超新星在自己眼前爆炸然後逐漸消失，這對於很多人來說，都恐怕是一輩子只能有一次的經歷。以後的一百年，我們可能不會再看到這樣的景象了。”

這顆超行星乍出現時呈藍白色，位置正好在北斗七星最後兩顆星的左上方。爲了最大限度的清楚地對其進行觀測，觀測者應該遠離有街燈的地方。

此次爆炸產生的物質最終會形成一些新星和星球。超新星中有1/5的都會發生這樣的爆炸，這爲科學家們研究宇宙如何膨脹提供了必要的信息。