10-Year-Old Girl Discovers Supernova  Published January 04, 2011
| Space.com  It may have only appeared as a tiny, glowing spot
hovering over a distant galaxy, but the sight made a precocious
10-year-old amateur astronomer the youngest person ever to have
detected the stellar explosion known as a supernova.  Kathryn
Aurora Gray of Fredericton, New Brunswick in Canada discovered
the supernova explosion in a galaxy, called UGC 3378, within the
faint constellation of Camelopardalis. The galaxy is
approximately 240 million light-years away.   "I'm really
excited. It feels really good," Gray told the Toronto Star.
Gray made the discovery on Jan. 2 using images that were taken
of galaxy UGC 3378 on New Year's Eve. The supernova was then
verified by Illinois-based amateur astronomer Brian Tieman and
Arizona-based amateur astronomer Jack Newton, who then reported
it to the International Astronomical Union's Central Bureau for
Astronomical Telegrams.   Gray reported the stellar explosion
under the supervision of her