Image via ESA and NASA

I keep trying to see this supernova in the Pinwheel Galaxy. The darn moon is just too bright. Ethan at Starts With a Bang suggests waiting a week or so. I will try that.

But what I find really cool about this supernova – it is possible to actually see the thing. This object is in the Pinwheel Galaxy, which puts it at around 39 million light years away. That is far. Far, far away.

How can you see something so far away? You can see it because it is super bright. Super, super, super bright. How bright? Let me first start with some background stuff.

Luminosity and...