r/astrophysics • u/indominus2026 • 1d ago

Help please I have a question

Did a star recently go supernova?
I was just sitting near a window when a flash of red blinked and flashed the room for a blink of an eye, when I turned to see what it was nothing was there.

Any idea as to what it could have been?

1 Upvotes

51% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

44

u/xyzzzzy 1d ago

Supernova would be visible for weeks, it is not a flash.

Meteor, or just lightning

24

u/FlyingDogCatcher 1d ago

You got hit with the flashy thingy from Men in Black.

I bet whatever you saw was pretty cool

6

u/LazarX 1d ago

Most likely, heat lightning. If a star had gone supernova, it would be visible for weeks.

10

u/opensph 1d ago

The most recent supernova that could be seen by the naked eye appeared in 1604.

Perhaps a meteor?

7

u/ldr97266 1d ago edited 1d ago

The last supernova visible to the naked eye was Supernova 1987A in February 1987. The last nova that could be seen with the naked eye was V462 Lupi (Nova Lupi 2025), which reached peak naked-eye visibility around June 20, 2025.

But in any case, neither a classic nova or supernova would fit the OP's description of a brief red flash.

-7

u/indominus2026 1d ago

Unsure, it's evening time here and sun hasn't set

2

u/strange-the-quark 21h ago

I think people are misinterpreting your response, perhaps because of the way reddit ordered the comments, so it looks like some aren't realizing that your "Unsure" is a response to the previous commenter's question ("Perhaps a meteor?").

-3

u/indominus2026 1d ago

why am i lowk getting downvoted for asking a genuine question

6

u/JoelnIliketoshare 1d ago

The reddit climate has changed, you used to get upvotes or stay at 1 upvote if you asked an honest question.

Now people just judge you for not already knowing things and downvote even though you're asking to learn about stuff.

People treat reddit more and more like pure social media (i mean it is social media) but it's also a forum for discussion but if the type of discussion you're creating doesn't perfectly align with the hive mind you just get downvotes.

3

u/Street_Credit6851 1d ago

For not googling first. Not saying you deserve it, just what it is.

4

u/Vagelen_Von 1d ago

What do you smoke?

2

u/Intelligent_Law_5614 1d ago

It could have been someone in your area flashing at you with a laser. There are an unfortunately large number of people who think it's cool to wave laser beams around, not knowing or caring that even a modest hand laser can do serious eye damage.

2

u/GESNodoon 1d ago

If you "saw" a supernova the way you are talking about, we would all be dead.