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Session 21 - Amateurs & Professionals: Collaborators in the New Age of Electronic Astronomy - I.
Oral session, Tuesday, June 10
North Main Hall C/D,
A growing number of underground particle astrophysics experiments are sensitive to the burst of neutrinos from the core collapse initiating a nearby supernova. This neutrino signal precedes the supernova's photon signal by several hours, and a network linking the neutrino experiments is being established to better observe the neutrino signal. The network looks for coincidences between experiments, to eliminate spurious signals, allow for high confidence early warning of galactic supernovae, and provide a rudimentary supernova position. Amateur astronomers are in an excellent position to make use of the early warning provided by this network to make early observations of the supernova and pinpoint its position. As shown by the experience of SN1987A, amateur observations can be very important to the study of a nearby supernova. Ideas for the coordination of the neutrino network and the amateur community are presented and solicited.
