Not many people can boast of discovering a new celestial wonder, let alone doing so before puberty. But 10-year-old Nathan Gray of Nova Scotia has done just that: Gray is officially the youngest person ever to identify a new supernova.
Gray, with the help of his father, used the local Abbey Ridge Observatory to spot the exploding star on October 30th. His find was confirmed as a bona fide supernova last week by Italian astronomers. They took spectroscopic measurements that showed the newfound object had the wavelength signatures of a supernova.
Supernovas happen when giant stars run out of fuel for nuclear fusion and collapse in on themselves. The resulting giant explosions are so bright they are visible from distant galaxies.
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Nathan Gray found his supernova in the constellation of Draco, where he noticed a new bright star that hadn't been there in older images.
Nathan comes from a space-minded family. In fact, he stole his new title from his older sister, Kathryn Aurora Gray, who had held the record for youngest person to discover a supernova. Looks like the family has multiple young stars.
—Clara Moskowitz
[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]
