Night owls: meet the duo of amateur astronomers in Japan who discovered the star that delivered a "shocking surprise" to NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope

Click to read Japan Times article about Nishiyama & Kabashima

On March 11, 2010, the evening skies were clear over the town of Miyaki in Saga Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū, Japan. Two elderly stargazers, though comfortably retired from their jobs, were just getting to work in their Miyaki Argenteus Observatory.

All night, Koichi Nishiyama, 72, snapped pictures of the sky through the barrel of a 16-inch-wide reflecting telescope. His observing partner, Fujio Kabashima, 70, used computer software to compare the images with shots of the same patches of sky taken on previous nights.

In the pre-dawn hours, Nishiyama and Kabashima finally nabbed themselves a nova — the sudden, short-lived, and dramatic brightening of a formerly inconspicuous star. This particular star, V407 Cyg, lies about 9,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cygnus the Swan. Nishiyama and Kabashima determined that V407 Cyg had flared to 10 times its former brightness.

The amateurs reported the observation to astronomer Hiroyuki Maehara at Kyoto University, who notified his colleagues around the world so they could organize follow-up observations. Three other Japanese observers — Tadashi Kojima, Kazuo Sakaniwa and Akihiko Tago — reported the same nova the next day, March 11.

On March 11, NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope started picking up gamma rays streaming from a new source in Cygnus, which turned out to be V407 Cyg. This was totally unexpected and out of character for a nova. It’s the topic of a major press release from Goddard today and the subject of an electronic publication in the journal Science. (Actually, Nishiyama and Kabashima are co-authors on the Science paper.)



Fermi's Large Area Telescope saw no sign of a nova in 19 days of data prior to March 10 (left), but the eruption is obvious in data from the following 19 days (right). The images show the rate of gamma rays with energies greater than 100 million electron volts (100 MeV); brighter colors indicate higher rates. Credit: NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration




Sky lovers
The Fermi discovery is a perfect moment to celebrate hard-working amateur observers around the world like Nishiyama and Kabashima. These folks make significant and valuable contributions to astronomy every day.

So let’s give these sleepless gentlemen from Saga Prefecture their nova-nabbing props, and in their own words. Special thanks to Hiromitsu Takahashi of Hiroshima University for relaying my questions by email to Nishiyama and Kabashima and translating their responses.

gogblog: To date, how many novae and or other objects you have spotted and reported officially?

Nishiyama & Kabashima: “We started observations on August 1st 2007. Up to now, we have discovered 53 novae and one supernova (SN2009ls, on November 26, 2009). Of the novae, 13 are galactic and 40 extragalactic.”

Just a quick pause for the science literacy cause: “Galactic” refers to novae in our Milky Way Galaxy. “Extragalactic” means it happened in other galaxies.

And let’s be clear about another thing: Spotting 53 novae in three years is an extraordinary achievement for any human observer. In 2008, they discovered five in a single year, tying the record set in 1991 by Australian Paul Camilleri. In March 2008, the pair received a special award for their achievements from the Astronomical Society of Japan.

What better person to put it in perspective than astronomy author Stephen James O’Meara, one of the most celebrated amateur observers in the business.

“Nova hunters are a dedicated group of amateur astronomers who demonstrate infinite patience,” Steve says. “What does seem to stand out about Nishiyama and Kabashima’s success is its magnitude. Most nova hunters spend years searching before they find one. Bill Liller (in Chile), for instance, has been searching in earnest, I believe, since the mid-1980s. Yet Nishiyama and Kabashima have nearly tied him in galactic nova discoveries in only three years time! That’s almost unheard of. It means that either their observing conditions are exceptional or that they are exceptionally fortunate when they do have clear skies to nab most of the few novae that occur briefly in the Northern skies each year.”

Japanese amateur astronomers discovered Nova Cygni 2010 in an image taken on March 10 (4:08 a.m. Japan Standard Time, March 11). The erupting star (in center of circles) was 10 times brighter than in an image taken several days earlier. Credit: K. Nishiyama and F. Kabashima/H. Maehara, Kyoto Univ.




And it’s not like Nishiyama and Kabashima don’t have any competition. . .

gogblog: How many other amateur observers in Japan are doing this kind of work?

Nishiyama & Kabashima: “There are about 50 amateurs searching for supernovae in Japan. Among them, the number of the people who have really discovered them (and are still observing actively) is about 10. In the case of novae, because the observation requires relatively simple equipment, many more people are searching. However, the number of the discoverers is similar to that of the supernovae (about 10).”

gogblog: Is there friendly competition between the observers to be the first to discover new objects?

Nishiyama & Kabashima: “Yes. We think all the observers are not only rivals but also friends. Actually, we send/receive emails very frequently with some of them — for example, Hideo Nishimura in Kakekawa city, Shizuoka prefecture, who has discovered the same number of galactic novae as us. Also, Koichi Itagaki in Yamagata city, Yamagata prefecture, who is one of the leading discoverers of supernovae.”



Despite getting through many nights on just three hours of sleep, Nishiyama and Kabashima appear to have inexhaustible enthusiasm for nova hunting. This is not really surprising, considering that the word “amateur” is French for “lover of,” ultimately derived from the Latin for “lover.”

gogblog: After discovering so many objects, what motivates you to continue? What holds your interest about this work?

Nishiyama & Kabashima: “Following our discoveries, many researchers take the spectra and study them. Some of them contact us to ask for more information or to give feedback, such as confirmation of the brightening. Therefore, we understand our activities are helpful for the research of astronomy and astrophysics. It’s our motivation. We really hope that our discoveries are useful for the research. We try to observe the sky every night with little sleep if the weather is fine.”

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OH AND DID I MENTION? All opinions and opinionlike objects in this blog are mine alone and NOT those of NASA or Goddard Space Flight Center. And while we’re at it, links to websites posted on this blog do not imply endorsement of those websites by NASA.

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International Observe the Moon Night Is Coming! On Saturday September 18, what will you be watching — Earth's only natural satellite or "American Idol"?

Goddard Astronomy Club president Cornelis Dutoit took this picture two days after first quarter moon. It's what you would see through a small telescope with a low-power eyepiece.

I recently bumped into Andrea Jones, a senior outreach coordinator for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission. That means she helps get LRO science into classrooms. Andrea is bright, enthusiastic, and personable — just the sort of person you want for this job.

It’s always good to get around Goddard and talk to people. You never know what you’ll learn. For example, I learned a new email emoticon from corresponding with Andrea: 😮  Does it say “I am happy and smiling while emailing with you” or “I am a hungry little baby bird; please feed me.” It’s hard to say.

More importantly, she clued me in on a cool new astronomical event of global proportions coming up in September. It’s called International Observe the Moon Night —  InOMN for short. It was hatched by the LRO people at Goddard and other lunar types at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California.

Going lunar
To be part of InOMN, if only in spirit, all you have to do is look up in the sky on September 18th. A waxing gibbous moon will be (we hope) shining brightly in a clear sky in your part of the world. What will you see? Check out the chart below.

When people ask me how they can “get into astronomy,” I always say:  Look at the moon. It’s one of the most unappreciated heavenly bodies I know. That and the dog-bone-shaped asteroid 216 Kleopatra.

The moon and I go back a long way, at least 0.0000008% of the moon’s age. I got my first telescope for Christmas in 1974. Naturally, the first thing I did was spy on a neighbor through his kitchen window.

Ugh: some guy standing in front of the stove, cooking scrambled eggs. Not very exciting, 11-year-old-boy-wise.

Second stop: the moon. Humans had left the moon just a year and 6 days earlier after multiple missions of exploration. But Earth’s natural satellite was still terra incognita to me. I looked into the eyepiece: WOW! Vast craters and mountains leaped out of the formerly featureless glow of a waxing gibbous moon. Yes, a waxing gibbous moon, just like on September 18 this year. Some coincidence, eh?

Goddard Astronomy Club member Daniel Antonson snapped this image using a cell phone camera, looking through the eyepiece of the club's 12-inch reflecting telescope.

If you have never looked at the moon through a telescope or binoculars, you should. Mark down September 18 on your calendar: “Observe the moon tonight.”

It’s a Saturday, so the moon will have to square off against “American Idol” and “Dancing With The Stars.” But at least give it a quick look during the commercial break.

Depending on where you live, you might benefit from the expert guidance of a local astronomy club. If you come to the event at NASA Goddard’s Visitor Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, you will meet me and my friends from the Goddard Astronomy Club and peer through their phalanx of telescopes.

Schools will be involved in InOMN, as well as major astronomical observatories. The Adler Planetarium in Chicago is jumping in. Other partners already include Astronomers Without Borders, the Museum Alliance, Mauna Kea Observatories Outreach Committee, Navajo Nation, Solar System Ambassadors, the Astronomy Society of the Pacific’s Night Sky Network, and Astronomy from the Ground Up.

Foreign nations where events will be held now include Canada, Chile, Greece, Great Britain, and Italy. Quite a party.

Hey, you don’t even need to join some fancy organization to get involved. You could host your own Observe the Moon party.

If you need information and inspiration, go to the InOMN website: http://www.observethemoonnight.org. The site is still under construction, but already includes a number of downloads to help people host InOMN events, such as a promotional flier and various moon maps. InOMN will also host a Tweet-Up and a photo contest. Follow these hashtags for updates: #InOMN and #InOMN2010.

“InOMN 2010 is only the first of what we hope will become an annual event,” Andrea says. “2011 to 2014 are already planned, and it’d be great if it could go on even after that.”

Goddard Astronomy Club member Joseph Novotka took this photo while observing through his 8-inch Newtonian reflecting telescope using his Nikon D90 camera to look through the eyepiece.

Over the moon about the moon

International Observe the Moon Night has its roots in the launch of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, June 18, 2009.

Here at Goddard, we hosted a public event August 1 called “We’re At The Moon!” That same night, education and public outreach teams with the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite and the NASA Lunar Science Institute hosted a similar event at Ames Research Center.

National Observe the Moon Night at Ames was part of the International Year of Astronomy, commemorating the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s astronomical observations using a telescope. One of his targets: the moon.

Both events were huge hits with the public, so the organizers started to think they were onto something. Thus was born International Observe the Moon Night.

Hope to see you there. Stay tuned to gogblog for updates.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
OH AND DID I MENTION? All opinions and opinionlike objects in this blog are mine alone and NOT those of NASA or Goddard Space Flight Center.


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International Observe the Moon Night Is Coming! On Saturday September 18, what will you be watching — Earth’s only natural satellite or “American Idol”?

Goddard Astronomy Club president Cornelis Dutoit took this picture two days after first quarter moon. It's what you would see through a small telescope with a low-power eyepiece.

I recently bumped into Andrea Jones, a senior outreach coordinator for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission. That means she helps get LRO science into classrooms. Andrea is bright, enthusiastic, and personable — just the sort of person you want for this job.

It’s always good to get around Goddard and talk to people. You never know what you’ll learn. For example, I learned a new email emoticon from corresponding with Andrea: 😮 Does it say “I am happy and smiling while emailing with you” or “I am a hungry little baby bird; please feed me.” It’s hard to say.

More importantly, she clued me in on a cool new astronomical event of global proportions coming up in September. It’s called International Observe the Moon Night — InOMN for short. It was hatched by the LRO people at Goddard and other lunar types at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California.

Going lunar
To be part of InOMN, if only in spirit, all you have to do is look up in the sky on September 18th. A waxing gibbous moon will be (we hope) shining brightly in a clear sky in your part of the world. What will you see? Check out the chart below.

When people ask me how they can “get into astronomy,” I always say: Look at the moon. It’s one of the most unappreciated heavenly bodies I know. That and the dog-bone-shaped asteroid 216 Kleopatra.

The moon and I go back a long way, at least 0.0000008% of the moon’s age. I got my first telescope for Christmas in 1974. Naturally, the first thing I did was spy on a neighbor through his kitchen window.

Ugh: some guy standing in front of the stove, cooking scrambled eggs. Not very exciting, 11-year-old-boy-wise.

Second stop: the moon. Humans had left the moon just a year and 6 days earlier after multiple missions of exploration. But Earth’s natural satellite was still terra incognita to me. I looked into the eyepiece: WOW! Vast craters and mountains leaped out of the formerly featureless glow of a waxing gibbous moon. Yes, a waxing gibbous moon, just like on September 18 this year. Some coincidence, eh?

Goddard Astronomy Club member Daniel Antonson snapped this image using a cell phone camera, looking through the eyepiece of the club's 12-inch reflecting telescope.

If you have never looked at the moon through a telescope or binoculars, you should. Mark down September 18 on your calendar: “Observe the moon tonight.”

It’s a Saturday, so the moon will have to square off against “American Idol” and “Dancing With The Stars.” But at least give it a quick look during the commercial break.

Depending on where you live, you might benefit from the expert guidance of a local astronomy club. If you come to the event at NASA Goddard’s Visitor Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, you will meet me and my friends from the Goddard Astronomy Club and peer through their phalanx of telescopes.

Schools will be involved in InOMN, as well as major astronomical observatories. The Adler Planetarium in Chicago is jumping in. Other partners already include Astronomers Without Borders, the Museum Alliance, Mauna Kea Observatories Outreach Committee, Navajo Nation, Solar System Ambassadors, the Astronomy Society of the Pacific’s Night Sky Network, and Astronomy from the Ground Up.

Foreign nations where events will be held now include Canada, Chile, Greece, Great Britain, and Italy. Quite a party.

Hey, you don’t even need to join some fancy organization to get involved. You could host your own Observe the Moon party.

If you need information and inspiration, go to the InOMN website: http://www.observethemoonnight.org. The site is still under construction, but already includes a number of downloads to help people host InOMN events, such as a promotional flier and various moon maps. InOMN will also host a Tweet-Up and a photo contest. Follow these hashtags for updates: #InOMN and #InOMN2010.

“InOMN 2010 is only the first of what we hope will become an annual event,” Andrea says. “2011 to 2014 are already planned, and it’d be great if it could go on even after that.”

Over the moon about the moon

International Observe the Moon Night has its roots in the launch of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, June 18, 2009.

Here at Goddard, we hosted a public event August 1 called “We’re At The Moon!” That same night, education and public outreach teams with the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite and the NASA Lunar Science Institute hosted a similar event at Ames Research Center.

National Observe the Moon Night at Ames was part of the International Year of Astronomy, commemorating the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s astronomical observations using a telescope. One of his targets: the moon.

Both events were huge hits with the public, so the organizers started to think they were onto something. Thus was born International Observe the Moon Night.

Hope to see you there. Stay tuned to gogblog for updates.