* Astronomy

Las Cumbres Observatory Provides Vital Early Observations of a Supernova

The supernova SN 2013fs was discovered, in a galaxy about 160 million light-years from Earth, on 6 October 2013 by scientists at the Palomar Observatory. Las Cumbres Observatory provided early follow-up observations and obtained one of the first light spectra of the event. Data from LCO followed the luminosity of the supernova from the first hours through months after the explosion.
LCO scientists Andy Howell and Iair Arcavi were part of a team of researchers that used this vital early data to discover previously-unknown characteristics of the massive stars which explode as the most common type of supernova. Their work was published this week in an article in Nature Physics.
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