| Puckett Observatory Supernova Search |
The POSS search team made a rare discovery of two supernovae in one galaxy. Details of the discovery in UGC4132 can be found in the IAU circular 8605.
Other Notable Discoveries
Possible quasar in Bootes. IAU circular 8518 - Variable Object in Bootes
Cataclysmic Nova in Hercules - CBET 226
For more notable discoveries and publications about POSS visit Wikipedia.
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| Supernova 2005cy |
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On 7 January 2012, the Puckett Observatory Supernova Search discovered 2012A, the first supernova of 2012. A beautiful image of the galaxy and supernova appears in the Astronomy Picture of the Day.
On 15 July 2005, the International Astronomical Union announced the discovery of Supernova 2005cy by Ajai Sehgal, Jack Newton and Tim Puckett. This is the 100th supernova discovery made by the Puckett Observatory Supernova Search (POSS), setting a new record for supernova discoveries by a team of amateur astronomers. The discovery was confirmed on images taken by Doug George (Ottawa, Canada) .Shortly after this discovery was announced, astronomers observed SN2005cy using the DBSP spectrograph mounted on the Hale 200 inch telescope at the Mount Palomar Observatory and obtained spectrographic information indicating that SN2005cy is a Type IIn supernova.
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POSS is an international team of amateur astronomers, created by Tim Puckett. Puckett’s team of volunteers is located in the United States, Canada, and Italy.
“The key is the Internet and the collaborative spirit of it’s members allowing cooperation between amateur observatories all around the world.
If we could get enough amateur observatories involved we could be very effective” Puckett states.
Puckett uses custom software to allow him to keep track of all the telescopes in the network to avoid overlap and to optimize output . To date Puckett has taken more than 850,000 images in the search. Observing from dusk until dawn on every clear night, Puckett images approximately 1200 to 1600 galaxies per night. Puckett uses computers to control the robotic telescopes and sends the images to other volunteers via the Internet. Each image is manually compared ("blinked") to archive images. Professional astronomers further study these supernovae (exploding stars) to better understand the life cycle of stars and the acceleration of the universe.
Investigators include:
Tim Puckett, Eric Briggs, Peter Ceravolo, Debra Ceravolo, Lou Cox, Tom Crowley, Robert Gagliano, Ernesto Guido, Doug George, Barbara Harris, Brian Kerns, Scott Ireland, Anthony Kroes, Alex Langoussis, Mike Marcus, Jack Newton, Tom Orff, Mike O’Conner, Andrea Pelloni, Mike Peoples, Vishnu Reddy, Ajai Sehgal, Darrel Moon, Ingrid Siegert, Giovanni Sostero, Mark Taylor, Jennifer Tigner, Dave Toth, Jim Vale.
POSS operations have been assisted by corporate sponsors and technology partners: Apogee Instruments, DC-3 Dreams, Diffraction Limited, Software Bisque.
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