I've often talked about how amateurs still can make contributions in modern astronomy, making us unique among the sciences. Well, 14-year old Caroline Moore became the youngest person to discover a supernova, through diligence and drive. The story of her find of SN2008ha is both a great character piece, and an example of what a motivated and skilled person can accomplish in 8 months.
Caroline's story hit Slashdot and the Reg, so instead of providing secondhand sources and op eds, I'll push you to the actual details, which are well worth reading. So consider this a quick shout-out to Caroline, and an inspiration to this site's readers.
Alex, the daytime astronomer
here Tues&Fri, via RSS, and twitter: @skyday
Caroline's supernova
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