Publications (11)
PTF11eon/SN2011dh: Discovery of a Type IIb Supernova From a Compact Progenitor in the Nearby Galaxy M51
Iair Arcavi, Avishay Gal-Yam, Ofer Yaron +40
On May 31, 2011 UT a supernova (SN) exploded in the nearby galaxy M51 (the Whirlpool Galaxy). We discovered this event using small telescopes equipped with CCD cameras, as well as…
Type II supernova energetics and comparison of light curves to shock-cooling models
Adam Rubin, Avishay Gal-Yam, Annalisa De Cia +37
During the first few days after explosion, Type II supernovae (SNe) are dominated by relatively simple physics. Theoretical predictions regarding early-time SN light curves in the…
Discovery and Early Multi-Wavelength Measurements of the Energetic Type Ic Supernova PTF12gzk: A Massive-Star Explosion in a Dwarf Host Galaxy
Sagi Ben-Ami, Avishay Gal-Yam, Alexei V. Filippenko +45
We present the discovery and extensive early-time observations of the Type Ic supernova (SN) PTF12gzk. Our finely sampled light curves show a rise of 0.8mag within 2.5hr. Power-law…
PTF11rka: an interacting supernova at the crossroads of stripped-envelope and H-poor super-luminous stellar core collapses
Elena Pian, Paolo A. Mazzali, Takashi J. Moriya +17
The hydrogen-poor supernova PTF11rka (z = 0.0744), reported by the Palomar Transient Factory, was observed with various telescopes starting a few days after the estimated explosion…
A high-rate foreground of sub-second flares from geosynchronous satellites
Guy Nir, Eran O. Ofek, Sagi Ben-Ami +3
The Weizmann Fast Astronomical Survey Telescope (W-FAST) is a 55cm optical survey telescope with a high cadence (25Hz) monitoring of the sky over a wide field of view (~7deg^2). Th…
An Isolated Stellar-Mass Black Hole Detected Through Astrometric Microlensing
Kailash C. Sahu, Jay Anderson, Stefano Casertano +90
We report the first unambiguous detection and mass measurement of an isolated stellar-mass black hole (BH). We used the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to carry out precise astrometry…
Did Simon Marius observe Jupiter's satellites on January 8, 1610? An exercise in computation
Yaakov Zik, Giora Hon, Ilan Manulis
The question, Did Simon Marius (1573-1625) observe Jupiter's satellites on January 8, 1610 (December 29, 1609 in the Julian calendar) is moot, for he did not disclose his research…
The Weizmann Fast Astronomical Survey Telescope (W-FAST): System Overview
Guy Nir, Eran O. Ofek, Sagi Ben-Ami +8
A relatively unexplored phase space of transients and stellar variability is that of second and sub-second time-scales. We describe a new optical observatory operating in the Negev…
The Jay Baum Rich telescope: a Centurion 28 at the Wise Observatory
Noah Brosch, Shai Kaspi, Saar Niv +1
We describe the third telescope of the Wise Observatory, a 0.70-m Centurion 28 (C28IL) installed in 2013 and named the Jay Baum Rich telescope to enhance significantly the wide-fie…
Supernova Discoveries 2010-2011: Statistics and Trends
Avishay Gal-Yam, Paolo Mazzali, Ilan Manulis +1
We have inspected all supernova discoveries reported during 2010 and 2011 (538 and 926 events, respectively). We examine the statistics of all discovered objects, as well as those…
The Centurion 18 telescope of the Wise Observatory
Noah Brosch, David Polishook, Avi Shporer +3
We describe the second telescope of the Wise Observatory, a 0.46-m Centurion 18 (C18) installed in 2005, which enhances significantly the observing possibilities. The telescope ope…