Wondering About a Big Bang for the 4th.

Happy 4th of July, you all!!

 

Please don't get too big a bang out of the day.

Nature puts on the largest display and the biggest bangs (if you could hear sounds in space).  Instead of sound waves, there would be shock waves.

One of the largest and brightest explosions are the Type 1a supernovae.  Since that type of explosion is always the same brightness, astronomers use them as the mile posts of the universe. 

 

And one more example of an exploding star:

 Then came along one that was way brighter than the rest.  Not only did it surprise the astronomers but it also gave them a scare.  If this was so, then all the previous work done to measure distances in the universe based on this type of supernova would be wrong and they would have to find something else to help measure the vast distances.

So why is this "candle" burning brighter than all the rest?  Well, later on it was discovered that it really wasn't brighter but it was magnified by a gravitational lens.  A gravitational lens is created by a large object (a star or our sun) or a grouping of objects (a galaxy) who's gravity is strong enough to bend the light that is passing by.  So that meant that all is well in the astronomy business and this was not the upset that it was first thought to be.  One should never jump to conclusions until all the facts are known.  All the sciences try to always make sure what they discover is correct and in cases that they don't, things get out of hand.

Have a great holiday, you hear?