From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Caroline Moore
Caroline Moore
Pegasus. She cross checked possible image artifacts and
reported the finding to her team. On November 13, 2008,
the International Astronomical Union confirmed the dis-
covery of a supernova in galaxy UGC 12682 by Moore. On
November 18 she received a phone call confirming that
she had discovered a supernova, and a rather unusual
one. Not only it is very faint, some 1,000 times dimmer
than a typical supernova and probably the faintest super-
nova ever seen, but it is also located in a type of galaxy
where supernovas are believed to be extremely unlikely.
Alex Filippenko, a supernova group leader at the Univer-
sity of California at Berkeley, said on her discovery: "This
shows that no matter what your age, anyone can make a
significant contribution to our understanding of the uni-
verse."[1][4]
Caroline Moore in her home observatory Since her discovery, Moore has been in the media’s
attention. On December 30, 2008 she received a Certifi-
Caroline Moore is an American amateur astronomer. cate of Recognition from the Town of Warwick and on
On November 7, 2008, at the age of 14, Moore discovered February 9, 2009 a proclamation at the floor of the New
supernova 2008ha in the galaxy UGC 12682 in the con- York State Assembly. Her interview was aired on North
stellation Pegasus. At that time, Moore was the youngest East Public Radio stations on April 20, 2009 and in June
person to discover a supernova. This record was broken she appeared live on Fox News Channel and on MSNBC’s
on December 31, 2010, by the 10 years old amateur as- Rachel Maddow Show.[5][3] In February 2009, Moore was
tronomer Kathryn Aurora Gray who discovered superno- awarded iOptron Young Astronomer of the Year for the
va SN 2010lt. International Year of Astronomy 2009, by iOptron Corpo-
Moore started her astronomical observations at the ration of Boston, Massachusetts. iOptron will also donate
age of ten, when her father Robert, an avid astronomer astronomy equipment to her school in Warwick.[2]
and the co-chair of the NorthEast Astro-Imaging Con- Moore continues looking for supernovas, browsing
ference, bought her a telescope. Since then, they built a through 200-400 images a week. On July 3 2009 Moore dis-
home observatory in the backyard of their home at War- covered another new supernova SN2009he. [3] She is al-
wick, 60 miles northwest of New York City. The observa- so singing and skiing at school and participating in the
tory has a retractable roof and three "advanced amateur" Rockland Astronomy Club and The Orange County Astro-
level telescopes, such as a 10-inch Newtonian reflector. nomical Association. Her example has quickly become
However, her serious observations were made not with motivational for teenagers to join astronomy research. [1]
her home telescopes, but at the computer screen. The As such, she was chosen by iOptron as an active represen-
motivation came at a dinner with family friends in early tative of the International Year of Astronomy 2009.[2]
2008 where she learned that an 18-year-old astronomer
had found a supernova. She then said "I could beat See also
her".[1][2]
In April 2008, she joined the Supernova Search team • Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
at Puckett Observatory, a private astronomical observa- • History of supernova observation
tory dedicated to the study of comets and supernovas. • SN 2008ha
The observatory uses four automatic telescopes which
digitally record astronomical images. This large amount References
of raw data is then processed on computers by volun-
[1] ^ Youngest person to discover a supernova
teers, searching for unusual bright spots in the images,
[2] ^ iOptron announces Caroline Moore as the Young
which could be supernovas.[1][3]
Astronomer of the Year
After 7 months of browsing through the images, on
[3] ^ "How Caroline became the youngest person to
November 7, 2008, Moore noticed a dim spot in one of the
discover a supernova". http://deer-pond-
pictures from the UGC 12682 galaxy in the constellation
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Caroline Moore
observatorie.wetpaint.com/page/ • Various other photos of Moore
The+story+about+SN2008ha. Persondata
[4] "Peculiar, Junior-sized Supernova Discovered By
Name Moore, Caroline
New York Teen". Sciencedaily. June 11, 2009.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/ Alternative names
090610154505.htm. Short description
[5] Youtube record of "Caroline Moore On MSNBC" Date of birth 1994
Place of birth
External links Date of death
• Caroline Moore with astronaut Dorothy Metcalf- Place of death
Lindenburger and of the supernova discovery
pictures
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Caroline_Moore&oldid=456765238"
Categories:
• 1994 births
• Living people
• American astronomers
• Amateur astronomers
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