<p>The odds of a supernova being visible to the naked eye is slim. <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1306.0559">Adams et al. (2013)</a> estimated that there is a 20% chance that we will be able to see such a supernova within the next 50 years. That should give you an idea of how unlikely this is.</p>

<p>The vast majority of supernovae that have been discovered lately have magnitudes ranging from +20 to +16 (check out <a href="http://www.rochesterastronomy.org/snimages/sndate.html">this page</a>, updated daily). The naked eye can see objects of magnitude +6 or less, meaning that a supernova of magnitude 16 is $10^{10}$ times fainter. Powerful telescopes are needed to observe these events.</p>

<p>Supernovae also aren't that quick. They fade over days or weeks or months or even years. You would not see a bright, quick flash of light. I don't want to say that it's impossible . . . but it's impossible.</p>

<p>If this <em>was</em> a supernova, it's even more unlikely that you could have seen such detail. When I say that a supernova is visible to the naked eye, that just means that you can see the light from it. It doesn't mean that the structure of any gas or dust being expelled can be observed. To make out that level of detail, it would need to be quite close to Earth - and so it would definitely have been observed by astronomers and amateur stargazers in quite a few places.</p>

<p>So no, I don't think this was a supernova. I have no idea what you saw, but it was not what you think it is.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-03T21:32:24.603Z
Maybe they saw a fireball heading in their direction so the trail was along their line of site. That seems to fit pretty well with their description.
zephyr
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-03T21:33:34.157Z
@zephyr It could be. Fragmentation during atmospheric reentry should look something like that. I'm not going to speculate without any more information, though; all I can conclude is that it wasn't a supernova.
HDE 226868
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-04T17:25:30.813Z
Thank you HDE for your professional explanation. I agree with you maybe it is really unlikely that I saw a supernova, but I didn't see a fireball either. I'm sure that what I saw was a star the fireball must has a movement at least. What I saw was a constant small dot released two sparkles or actually waves it's more like wave. The brightness increased gradually then one wave after couple seconds the the second wave. Then the brightness decreased gradually and finally the dot disappeared completely
user3779823
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-04T17:30:39.357Z
Also, I want to mention that those two waves compared to the size of this dot they were hundreds time bigger than the dot. It's the first time in my life I saw such thing. And this phenomenon occurred at the same area in the sky there was no movement. Is there any other possibilities such as star exploded, or star get swallowed by a black hole or maybe something else? What do you suggest? I'm looking forward for your answer. Thanks in advance.
user3779823
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-04T23:11:37.523Z
You could be clearer, there's no need to hedge your bets on this one.  This 100% was not a supernova, a star exploding or anything cosmological. Your answer only says "improbable". That's not right. This was not a supernova, not an exploding star, not a black hole. It was nothing from outer space, but something close to Earth. My guess: munitions or fireworks.
James K
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-04T23:53:33.543Z
@JamesK Given that I have absolutely no data from the OP, I was a little hesitant at being so direct. However, I've changed it to be definitive.
HDE 226868
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-05T15:07:35.907Z
@user3779823 It absolutely could not have been a star. Stars are much too far away for you to see that level of detail. I'm almost certain what you saw was a terrestrial phenomenon - maybe an artificial, man-made explosion.
HDE 226868
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-06T17:04:38.650Z
Just to be explicit on this: one reason we know it was not a star is that what is described would require faster than light speed travel since stars are at least a few light years away.  To light up the sky one degree away from a star would take at least a week.
eshaya
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-06T17:37:12.920Z
Thank you all very much for enriching this question with your comments, and special big thanks for you Sir @HDE226868 for your explanation. I'm still confused about what I saw. I don't think it was a fireworks nor munitions since I live in Syria, and I saw munitions and fireworks more than you people could ever imagine. I'm certain that what I saw wasn't supernova but I'm also certain it wasn't something terrestrial. I can just describe this phenomenon as the most bizarre, impressive and interesting thing I have ever seen in my entire life.
user3779823
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-06T17:48:44.607Z
It was pure serendipity that I was looking at this particular dot in the Sky when this happened. It was a dot just like any other star in the Sky, it shines just like any other star, the same size, the same color and static 'not moving'. and after seconds this phenomenon occurred. And I'm still confused. Anyway, something like "This 100% was not a supernova, a star exploding or anything cosmological" is not an answer! saying 100% is not an evidence. Also, I can not provide any further detail about this phenomenon so I think I will close this question since no answer can be provided.
user3779823
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-09-06T14:19:59.363Z
Of course, if a supernova happened close enough to Earth for us to see any details of the structure with naked eye observation we wouldn't be talking about it on the internet...
PM 2Ring
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-03T19:25:13.127Z
2017-02-04T23:52:48.907Z
2017-02-04T23:52:48.907Z
HDE 226868
<p>First of all, I'm from Syria. In Syria we have 70% of the night without electricity. So I love hanging out at this period of time in the night, looking up just as Prof. Stephen Hawking said to the sky, observing the beauty of the night sky. Tonight, when I was looking arbitrarily I saw a star. Suddenly its brightness increased gradually, and then this star released two big sparkles. They were more like distorted yellow or golden rings formed or more like waves.</p>

<p>I don't know how to express this phenomenon! Then those two sparkles disappeared, and the brightness of this star decreased very very fast until it just disappeared. It was the first time in my life I saw something like this! I just don't know what to say! This phenomenon lasted for a couple seconds.
I was shocked as much as you can imagine. I was unable to speak, totally impressed! I just cannot express my feeling! Maybe this is not a supernova! But what is that? Why did this star do that? </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-03T19:29:56.610Z
If there were any "sparkles" or any such detail, it was not a supernova. It is 100% impossible to see any details from a supernova. The only, ONLY thing you could see is an increase in brightness, that's all. But the image of a supernova (or any star) is always a simple dot. What you saw was something much, much closer.
Florin Andrei
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-04T00:34:41.403Z
Sounds like a Satellite flare: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_flare Heaven's above: http://www.heavens-above.com/ keeps track, and predicts the major flares, but there's a *lot* of shiny hardware circling the earth these days. I remember seeing Telstar 1 in 1962. Such events were *rare* back then. These days, you can go out about any cloudless night and see at least a satellite an hour.  --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telstar
Wayfaring Stranger
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-04T12:01:09.363Z
I agree with the above comment. Satellite flare sounds like the most likely candidate. Use this guide http://m.wikihow.com/Find-an-Iridium-Flare and try and spot another one :)
maguirenumber6
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-04T17:16:53.387Z
No I saw a YouTube video about satellite flare, it wasn't even close to what I saw. What I saw is a star which is constant 'not moving' small golden dot suddenly its brightness increased gradually and then one wave released from this dot it was also golden, and then followed immediately by the second wave, finally the brightness decreased gradually until this dot disappeared.
user3779823
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-05T20:54:32.310Z
@WayfaringStranger:  Telstar is still up, magnitude dimmer than 9.0.  Sure you aren't thinking of Echo 1 or 2?  I saw those...back  then...
DJohnM
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-05T21:05:26.167Z
@DJohnM 62-63, all the launches were big deals back then. Remember it was one of ours (US). Could've been an Echo.
Wayfaring Stranger
<amateur-observing><supernova>
Have I just observed a supernova?
user3779823
# Have I just observed a supernova?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-02-03)

First of all, I'm from Syria. In Syria we have 70% of the night without electricity. So I love hanging out at this period of time in the night, looking up just as Prof. Stephen Hawking said to the sky, observing the beauty of the night sky. Tonight, when I was looking arbitrarily I saw a star. Suddenly its brightness increased gradually, and then this star released two big sparkles. They were more like distorted yellow or golden rings formed or more like waves.

I don't know how to express this phenomenon! Then those two sparkles disappeared, and the brightness of this star decreased very very fast until it just disappeared. It was the first time in my life I saw something like this! I just don't know what to say! This phenomenon lasted for a couple seconds.
I was shocked as much as you can imagine. I was unable to speak, totally impressed! I just cannot express my feeling! Maybe this is not a supernova! But what is that? Why did this star do that?

**Tags:** amateur-observing, supernova

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: If there were any "sparkles" or any such detail, it was not a supernova. It is 100% impossible to see any details from a supernova. The only, ONLY thing you could see is an increase in brightness, that's all. But the image of a supernova (or any star) is always a simple dot. What you saw was something much, much closer.  
> **username_2**: Sounds like a Satellite flare: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_flare Heaven's above: http://www.heavens-above.com/ keeps track, and predicts the major flares, but there's a *lot* of shiny hardware circling the earth these days. I remember seeing Telstar 1 in 1962. Such events were *rare* back then. These days, you can go out about any cloudless night and see at least a satellite an hour.  --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telstar  
> **username_3**: I agree with the above comment. Satellite flare sounds like the most likely candidate. Use this guide http://m.wikihow.com/Find-an-Iridium-Flare and try and spot another one :)  
> **username_0**: No I saw a YouTube video about satellite flare, it wasn't even close to what I saw. What I saw is a star which is constant 'not moving' small golden dot suddenly its brightness increased gradually and then one wave released from this dot it was also golden, and then followed immediately by the second wave, finally the brightness decreased gradually until this dot disappeared.  
> **username_4**: @username_2:  Telstar is still up, magnitude dimmer than 9.0.  Sure you aren't thinking of Echo 1 or 2?  I saw those...back  then...  
> **username_2**: @username_4 62-63, all the launches were big deals back then. Remember it was one of ours (US). Could've been an Echo.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2017-02-03. Score: 11 | Accepted answer

The odds of a supernova being visible to the naked eye is slim. [Adams et al. (2013)](https://arxiv.org/abs/1306.0559) estimated that there is a 20% chance that we will be able to see such a supernova within the next 50 years. That should give you an idea of how unlikely this is.

The vast majority of supernovae that have been discovered lately have magnitudes ranging from +20 to +16 (check out [this page](http://www.rochesterastronomy.org/snimages/sndate.html), updated daily). The naked eye can see objects of magnitude +6 or less, meaning that a supernova of magnitude 16 is $10^{10}$ times fainter. Powerful telescopes are needed to observe these events.

Supernovae also aren't that quick. They fade over days or weeks or months or even years. You would not see a bright, quick flash of light. I don't want to say that it's impossible . . . but it's impossible.

If this *was* a supernova, it's even more unlikely that you could have seen such detail. When I say that a supernova is visible to the naked eye, that just means that you can see the light from it. It doesn't mean that the structure of any gas or dust being expelled can be observed. To make out that level of detail, it would need to be quite close to Earth - and so it would definitely have been observed by astronomers and amateur stargazers in quite a few places.

So no, I don't think this was a supernova. I have no idea what you saw, but it was not what you think it is.

> **Comments:**
> **username_6**: Maybe they saw a fireball heading in their direction so the trail was along their line of site. That seems to fit pretty well with their description.  
> **username_5**: @username_6 It could be. Fragmentation during atmospheric reentry should look something like that. I'm not going to speculate without any more information, though; all I can conclude is that it wasn't a supernova.  
> **username_0**: Thank you HDE for your professional explanation. I agree with you maybe it is really unlikely that I saw a supernova, but I didn't see a fireball either. I'm sure that what I saw was a star the fireball must has a movement at least. What I saw was a constant small dot released two sparkles or actually waves it's more like wave. The brightness increased gradually then one wave after couple seconds the the second wave. Then the brightness decreased gradually and finally the dot disappeared completely  
> **username_0**: Also, I want to mention that those two waves compared to the size of this dot they were hundreds time bigger than the dot. It's the first time in my life I saw such thing. And this phenomenon occurred at the same area in the sky there was no movement. Is there any other possibilities such as star exploded, or star get swallowed by a black hole or maybe something else? What do you suggest? I'm looking forward for your answer. Thanks in advance.  
> **username_7**: You could be clearer, there's no need to hedge your bets on this one.  This 100% was not a supernova, a star exploding or anything cosmological. Your answer only says "improbable". That's not right. This was not a supernova, not an exploding star, not a black hole. It was nothing from outer space, but something close to Earth. My guess: munitions or fireworks.  
> **username_5**: @username_7 Given that I have absolutely no data from the OP, I was a little hesitant at being so direct. However, I've changed it to be definitive.  
> **username_5**: @username_0 It absolutely could not have been a star. Stars are much too far away for you to see that level of detail. I'm almost certain what you saw was a terrestrial phenomenon - maybe an artificial, man-made explosion.  
> **username_8**: Just to be explicit on this: one reason we know it was not a star is that what is described would require faster than light speed travel since stars are at least a few light years away.  To light up the sky one degree away from a star would take at least a week.  
> **username_0**: Thank you all very much for enriching this question with your comments, and special big thanks for you Sir @username_5 for your explanation. I'm still confused about what I saw. I don't think it was a fireworks nor munitions since I live in Syria, and I saw munitions and fireworks more than you people could ever imagine. I'm certain that what I saw wasn't supernova but I'm also certain it wasn't something terrestrial. I can just describe this phenomenon as the most bizarre, impressive and interesting thing I have ever seen in my entire life.  
> **username_0**: It was pure serendipity that I was looking at this particular dot in the Sky when this happened. It was a dot just like any other star in the Sky, it shines just like any other star, the same size, the same color and static 'not moving'. and after seconds this phenomenon occurred. And I'm still confused. Anyway, something like "This 100% was not a supernova, a star exploding or anything cosmological" is not an answer! saying 100% is not an evidence. Also, I can not provide any further detail about this phenomenon so I think I will close this question since no answer can be provided.  
> **username_9**: Of course, if a supernova happened close enough to Earth for us to see any details of the structure with naked eye observation we wouldn't be talking about it on the internet...  

---

