Lady Luck called. But I wasn’t ready.
In fact I didn’t even recognize her since just as Thomas Edison predicted, she looked like work, dressed in overalls.
On May 19, at 2 a.m. from my New Jersey backyard, I was testing my telescope tracking on an object I have never imaged before. The Pinwheel galaxy (Messier 101). The next day I heard that the 75 year old supernova hunter extraordinaire, Koichi Itagaki had done it again. Beating research grade observatories to the punch, he had reported a supernova in the same galaxy that very night.
I went back to check my images, and sure enough, amidst the wispy arms of the spiral, a new dot had appeared. An exploding star that outshone all its peers 21 million light years away. I had imaged a new supernovae only once before, a month after its discovery. But this time it was different. My time of capture was BEFORE that of Itagaki. More than 9 hours ahead.
“So you discovered it too.” My nine year old quipped, eyes slightly wider.
“Nope.” I said. “Whoever reports it first gets credit.”
On a website that tracks these, there are 8 confirmed reports of others around the world who have reported imaging this pre-discovery, me included. None of them, was as prepared as Itagaki to confirm it’s appearance.
So, what’s the lesson?
When you see a lady in overalls, look again.
Else it may just be your chance of a lifetime coming to naught.
