Cincy Science: First, there's a Cigar Galaxy. Second, it's hosting a supernova that we can't see

CINCINNATI - Ever ask, "What is that?" Or, "Why is that?" In our new Wednesday feature, WCPO Digital contributor Anne Saker talks with people who can answer those questions: The folks who do science in Cincinnati and the Tri-State.

In January, astronomers trained their optics at a stunning vision, the detonation of a supernova. In the Cigar Galaxy 12 million light years away, a star burped on the last of its fuel and blew up. The supernova can’t be seen with the naked eye or even with the two venerable telescopes at The Cincinnati Observatory. 

Still, a supernova is kind of a big deal on the universal scale, so for suitable acknowledgement I turned to Dean Regas, the observatory’s outreach astronomer who runs the public education sessions and does the five-minute PBS astronomy nugget “Star Gazers.”

Become a WCPO Insider to read why we in the Tri-State can't see the supernova.

