first/only
identification
of a supernova progenitor
(although a blue supergiant vs. the expected red;
it was therefore fainter than expected);
before-&-
after pictures here
first/only
direct
detection
of neutrinos from neutron star formation
(neutrinos arrived 3 hours before we saw the light outburst)
(and once the source
of an upper
limit on the neutrino rest mass)
first
identification
of Co56
radioactive decay as the cause of the decreasing
luminosity
during the first few years of the supernova
(first determination of Co/Ni mass produced in a supernova: homework 8
question i/j)
first
detection of gamma
radiation from a supernova
third
detection
of a light
echo (the first extra-galactic one);
see the motion of a fourth light
echo discovered in 2003
first
detection
of a "wind"
ringand how it
looked
in 2000;
an animated gif of the ring appearance over time is here shockwave hits in 2003: shock speed = r/t = 0.7
c-yr/16.5 yr = .042 c = 13,000 km/s
first
geometric measurement
of a galaxy’s distance
first
evidence
for dust condensation around a supernova
