On Jan. 9, astronomers were able to witness something never before seen, a supernova at the instant of birth. Supernovae form when dying giant stars collapse upon themselves, building up unimaginable heat and pressure. They collapse to a neutron star and then explode in a titanic release of energy first displayed as a burst of X-rays.

Alicia Soderberg of Princeton University was part of a team using NASA’s X-ray Swift satellite to study a “normal” supernova when they spotted an intense five-minute burst of X-rays. The outburst was 100 billion times brighter than the sun and the astronomers immediately realized they had caught a supernova at its instant of birth.

“We were in the right place at the right time with the right telescope,” says Soderberg.

Other radio, optical and X-ray telescopes around the world immediately focused in on the extremely rare event that should prove to greatly expand what is known about the birth and death of these cataclysmic explosions.

Focus on the planets

Mercury appears low in the east in the morning twilight during the last few days of June. Mercury can be confused with Aldebaran just to the planet’s upper right.

Venus is on the far side of the sun from Earth at midmonth and is lost in the solar glare all month.

Mars, still glowing orange but small even with a telescope, is high in the west at dusk. A good time to look for Mars is June 7 when Mars is just to the upper right of the crescent moon.

Jupiter rises in the southeast around 11 p.m. as the month opens and stays in view nearly all night. The four major moons of Jupiter are readily visible and it is reported that on June 15 Ganymede, the shadow of Callisto, and the Great Red Spot all will be visible on Jupiter’s face by telescope.

Saturn is high to the upper left of Mars on the western horizon at dusk near the bright star Regulus. Look for Saturn on June 8 when Regulus and the crescent moon lie to the planet’s lower right. Saturn’s ring system is still tilted about 10 degrees for good viewing but is steadily closing.

Uranus and Neptune are visible through binoculars in the southeast before dawn. Finder charts are available online at SkyandTelescope.com/UranusNeptune.

June events

1 Sunrise, 4:53 a.m.; sunset, 8:14 p.m.

3 New moon, 3:23 p.m. The moon is at perigee, or closest approach to Earth, and the combination of these two events may lead to abnormally high tides.

7 Look for the narrow crescent moon to the lower left of Mars at dusk.

8 Saturn is high in the west at dusk with the bright star Regulus and the moon to the lower right. Mars is situated far to the lower right of Saturn.

10 Moon in first quarter, 11:02 a.m.

16 The moon is at apogee, or greatest distance from Earth, today.

18 Full moon, 1:30 p.m. The full moon of June is known as the Strawberry Moon, Rose Moon or Planting Moon.

20 Summer solstice, 7:59 p.m. The sun has reached its most northern point in its journey above the celestial equator, marking the first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. The nearly full moon lies directly below Jupiter in the southwest an hour before sunrise.

21 The sun enters the astrological sign of Cancer, however, astronomically is just entering Gemini on the ecliptic.

26 Moon in last quarter, 8:10 a.m.

27 This is the peak night for the Bootid meteor shower that originates high in the west in Bootes and is visible throughout the night. Highly variable, estimates range from 20 to 50 an hour, of very slow-moving meteors.

30 Mars and Regulus are extremely close together in the west at dusk. Saturn is placed just to their upper left. Sunrise, 4:52 a.m.; sunset, 8:25 p.m.

Send astronomical queries to Clair Wood at cgmewood@aol.com or care of the Bangor Daily News, Lifestyle Desk, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, Maine 04402.