I began to doubt the faith of my own eyes.

August 6, 2010 8:38 AM

Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope have for the first time obtained a three-dimensional view of the distribution of the innermost material expelled by a recently exploded star. The original blast was not only powerful, according to the new results, it was also more concentrated in one particular direction. This is a strong indication that the supernova must have been very turbulent, supporting the most recent computer models. Super-cool zooming video.
posted by HumanComplex (13 comments total)

Yes, that zooming video was super-cool. Now I know that exploding stars blow huge smoke rings which have an eerie resemblance to those which emanate from the throats of cigarette smokers. Once again, the microcosm is reflected in the macrocosm.
posted by grizzled at 8:45 AM on August 6, 2010

Very cool!

Recommend looking at with the sound OFF, though. That shlocky pseudo-sci-fi synth music is horrible.
posted by papercake at 8:45 AM on August 6, 2010

Recommend looking at with the sound OFF, though. That shlocky pseudo-sci-fi synth music is horrible.

This would be a muc better soundtrack for the video.
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 9:01 AM on August 6, 2010 [1 favorite]

[SPOILER ALERT]

It looks like an hourglass! Science is cool.
posted by Mister_A at 9:06 AM on August 6, 2010

The image in the first link and the last part of the video are only "artist impressions".

I thought the music was appropriate, although it made me laugh. I've got to agree that Sun Ra would be a good choice. Either that or Billy Idol.
posted by demiurge at 9:15 AM on August 6, 2010

I guess I am just old school, this is the obvious music for the video.
posted by Meatbomb at 9:33 AM on August 6, 2010

This would be a much better soundtrack for the video.

I was hoping for this.
posted by ryanshepard at 9:44 AM on August 6, 2010

Here's an Awl thread on the topic with some good stuff in the comments.
posted by dirigibleman at 10:03 AM on August 6, 2010

I hate it when they splice in computer models and simulations with actual space photography, especially when they don't throw up some kind of text or caption to inform you about it.

Hey, astronomer dudes: You can put away the MS Paint. We like your space pictures just fine the way they are! It's the motherfucking Universe, after all—no need to gussy it up for when company calls.
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:22 AM on August 6, 2010 [4 favorites]

Via that Awl thread, here's a better explanation of the imaging. Still doesn't really explain how they get a 3-D view though. Is it really close enough that the earth's orbit is wide enough to get two different angles?
posted by Nelson at 10:51 AM on August 6, 2010

Oh my bad, the linked ESO release explains the 3D thing. "for each pixel we get information about the nature and velocity of the gas ... Because we know the time that has passed since the explosion, and because the material is moving outwards freely, we can convert this velocity into a distance."
posted by Nelson at 10:53 AM on August 6, 2010

This isn't doing anything to remove my suspicions that space is actually full of giant jelly-fish.
posted by quin at 11:58 AM on August 6, 2010

This is awesome. But it raises an important question: what will astronomers do when they run out of superlative telescope names?

After the Very Large Telescope, Extremely Large Telescope, and Overwhelmingly Large Telescope, I look forward to the Fucking Huge Telescope.
posted by problemspace at 1:39 PM on August 6, 2010 [3 favorites]