It was a euphoric moment for students at the University of London after they serendipitously spotted a powerful supernova in the M82 galaxy. The supernova is one of the closest to be spotted from Earth in recent decades, say scientists.

The sky was getting cloudy.

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Instead of the planned practical astronomy class, Steve Fossey at the University of London Observatory, decided to train four undergrads how to use a CCD camera on one of the observatorys automated 0.35meter telescopes, according to the press release by the University of London.

The students decided to look at the Messier 82 galaxy, located 12 million light years from Earth. "It is a very photogenic galaxy and fascinating, so we often look at it," Fossey says.

What followed was a serendipitous discovery of a supernova, an exploding star.

Working with Dr. Fossey, the students Ben Cooke, Tom Wright, Matthew Wilde, and Guy Pollack spotted the explosion in nearby galaxy Messier 82, the press release stated.

Fossey and his students noticed a starlike object on the galaxy, which Fosseydid not recognize from previous observations, according to the press release.

They looked up online archive images of the galaxy, and it appeared that what they were looking at was probably some kind of a new star in the galaxy, the team said in the press release.

Continue reading here:

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