Supernova discovery

Oxford dairy farmer Stuart Parker, 37, had been scanning the North Canterbury skies through his telescope for 15 years searching for a supernova before finally coming across one – now named SN2009GJ – on June 20. A supernova is a giant star that collapses in on itself, releasing the energy of 100 billion suns. Parker told Radio Australia he has been accredited with observation of being the first person in the world to spot the star. He captured an image of the star – which is about 60 million light years away – on his computer controlled camera which is mounted on a Celestron 14-inch telescope. “The dinosaurs were alive when this star exploded and the light travelled here, and I was the first one to see it,” Parker said.