Supernova Progenitor Seen?
15 Feb 2008 – Roelofs, Bassa, Voss & Nelemans (2008) comment on the claimed detection by Voss & Nelemans (2008, Nature, 451, 802) of an X-ray binary progenitor at the position of the Type Ia supernova SN 2007on. They find that the X-ray source is probably still present, although significantly fainter. Furthermore, with better astrometry the X-ray position is slightly offset from the position of the supernova, by 1.18+/-0.27 arc-seconds. Since a Type Ia supernova completely disrupts the white dwarf that explodes, a surviving X-ray source is very unlikely. So the putative progenitor was quite possibly a chance coincidence with a variable X-ray source. Highest Redshift Galaxy? but no lines 12 Feb 2008 – The HST and the Spitzer Space Telescope have issued a press release claiming the detection of a galaxy at redshift z=7.6. However, NO lines have been observed. Based on previous z=10 galaxies, we should require two lines before believing any story like this. The NASA budget must be tight.
