After two years of studying light output from the star's death, one scientist is proposing that this star might have been the biggest ever known. About 200 times larger than a standard solar mass.

And when huge stars explode, it involves some really cool words. Check out this description:

But in the case of an extremely massive star, while its core is still made of oxygen, it releases photons that are so energetic, they create pairs of electrons and their anti-matter opposites, positrons. When the matter and antimatter meet, they annihilate each other.

Electrons and positrons? Matter and anti-matter? All fighting to annihilate each other and creating what may be the biggest nuclear explosion EVER? Man that sounds awesome.

I hope I get an FPS-style killcam view of the universe when I die, just so I can see stuff like this go down. [Space.com via Gearlog]

The object also appeared out of nowhere. It just wasn't there before. In fact, they don't even know where it is exactly located because it didn't behave like anything they know. Apparently, it can't be closer than 130 light-years but it can be as far as 11 billion light-years away. It's not in any known galaxy either. And they have ruled out a supernova too. It's something that they have never encountered before. In other words: they don't have a single clue about where or what the heck this thing is.

The shape of the light curve is inconsistent with microlensing. In addition to being inconsistent with all known supernova types, is not matched to any spectrum in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey database.

The only thing the astronomers—working on the Supernova Cosmology Project—can tell is that it appeared all of the sudden in the direction of a cluster with the catchy name of CL 1432.5+3332.8, about 8.2 billion light-years away. Hubble caught a spark that continued to brighten during a 100-day period, peaking at the 21st magnitude, only to fade away in the same period of time.

Apparently, a scientist at the LHC declared that the object is similar to the flash that an Imperial Star Destroyer does when reaching Warp 10. Either that or some dust on the Hubble lenses, so someone tell NASA to get some Windex up there too. [Sky and Telescope]

Nokia injects individuality and style into new Supernova range

June 27, 2008

Espoo, Finland - Recognizing that no one style fits all, Nokia today unveiled a new range of products to let consumers express their personal styles on a number of levels ranging from stylish designs, to personalization through vibrantly hued exchangeable covers.

The first four devices to launch as part of the new Nokia Supernova range feature a mix of bold colors and of-the-moment designs, evoking the allure of the latest statement handbags or must-have sunglasses. Aimed at style conscious men and women who want to stay connected, the new range delivers exceptional mobile functionality alongside a variety of music and internet experiences.

"As we rely more heavily on mobile phones to stay connected, they increasingly know everything about us and have become a window into our worlds," said Jo Harlow, vice president, LIVE category, Nokia. "With the Supernova range, we set out to give people the ability to set themselves apart in the same way that they would with a traditional statement accessory."

Xpress yourself

The new Nokia 7610, 7510 and 7310 Supernova devices give people an option to truly personalize their look by matching the style of their phone to their ever-changing moods with a choice of exchangeable Xpress-On covers in striking colors and glamorous surfaces.

Nokia 7610 Supernova

Featuring a slide design and smooth curves, the Nokia 7610 Supernova offers Xpress-On covers in a choice of a set of 'steel blue' and 'red' covers offset by a muted gray front surface, or 'bright lilac' and 'steel blue' contrasted against a pristine white front surface. The innovative Theme Colorizer feature lets people identify and capture any color and further tailor a look by applying captured colors to the phone's key illumination and wallpaper.

Additional features include a 3.2 megapixel camera with dual LED flash and 8x digital zoom, instant messaging and TV out for image sharing. With the Nokia 7610 Supernova, consumers can also enjoy and manage music with a dedicated music key, FM-radio, an MP3 player and access to Nokia Music Store* through the Nokia Music PC Client. The Nokia WidSets service gives access to enjoy and share content on favorite websites through the device.

The Nokia 7610 Supernova is available in the third quarter of 2008 with an estimated retail price of 225 EUR before taxes and subsidies.

Nokia 7510 Supernova

The Nokia 7510 Supernova boasts an iconic fold design with a push-to-open side key. Available with Xpress-On front and back covers in 'storm blue', 'red', 'emerald green' and 'espresso brown' the Nokia 7510 Supernova features magical light effects with a hidden-until-lit display and a reminder light. With outstanding mechanical quality, a soft feel and solid metal hinge, the phone features a 2 megapixel camera with NIPS, LED flash, 4x digital zoom, a 512MB microSD card**, a large 2.2 inch QVGA display and a new user friendly Nokia web browser for easy access to Nokia Search, Share on OVI and Flickr.

With the Nokia 7510 Supernova, consumers can enjoy and manage music with an FM Radio, an enhanced MP3 player, access to Nokia Music Store and Nokia Music PC Client. Additional features include a link to YouTube, access to Nokia Maps 1.2 to navigate with free mapping, routing and local search, support of A-GPS and the Nokia WidSets service.

The Nokia 7510 Supernova is available in the fourth quarter of 2008 with an estimated retail price of 180 EUR before taxes and subsidies.

Nokia 7310 Supernova

The slim and sleek Nokia 7310 Supernova includes Xpress-On covers etched with daring 3D textured designs available in 'steel blue' plus a second front and back cover in 'wasabi green' or 'candy pink'. A further five front and back cover options will be available for purchase in select markets in 'mushroom silver', 'plum jam', 'electric blue', 'yellow mellow' and 'espresso brown'.

Additional features include a 2 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom and TV out for image sharing, instant messaging and playing the preinstalled games on TV. An FM RDS radio and an MP3 music player complete the offering for style conscious individuals that want to enjoy their music anytime, anywhere.

The Nokia 7310 Supernova is available in the second quarter of 2008 with an estimated retail price of 155 EUR before taxes and subsidies.

Nokia 7210 Supernova

For trend watchers who want simplicity with style, the Nokia 7210 Supernova has a chic, slim design and is available in a choice of 'bubble gum pink' and 'vivid blue' in a gloss finish. With the Nokia 7210 Supernova, people can enjoy music sideloaded from a PC or purchased from Nokia Music Store, as well as manage music with the new Nokia Music PC client, which is available for download. With an SD memory card slot, favorite music and videos can be easily played and saved. A 2 megapixel camera and access to Flickr provide one click access to share photos.

The Nokia 7210 Supernova is available in the third quarter of 2008 with an estimated retail price of 120 EUR before taxes and subsidies.

*) Where available

**) Memory card size may vary by market

They also say the Infinity's images are 2x brighter than the competitions'. So how does it deliver all that? It's all in the screen, which has an active high-contrast filter that allows the projected image to be reflected while absorbing light from other areas. No word on pricing yet, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to start saving now. – Louis Ramirez

Product Page

Now you can show all those me-too dweebs who keep reaching in their pockets to check the time on their cellphones how different you are from them, wearing a watch that only has nine others even vaguely like it in the world.

Finnish watchmaker Stepan Sarpaneva only made 10 of them with his bare hands, but you'll pay dearly for the privilege of wearing one: €12,500, or around $16,648. Heck, it's cheaper than a solid gold Rolex. – Charlie White

Sarpaneva Supernova [Watching Horology]

See a comparison picture after the jump.

– Travis Hudson

Product Page [Via SCI FI]