N.C. High School Senior Discovers Galaxy, Wins Third In Fair
POSTED: 7:13 a.m. EST January 7, 2004
UPDATED: 7:31 a.m. EST January 7, 2004
GASTONIA, N.C. -- Ivana Vu likes the ocean, so she still wants to be a marine biologist. But the 17-year-old might have a good shot at a career in the stars.
The North Carolina School of Science and Math senior has co-discovered a galaxy.
Last January, Vu and her science partner, Andrew Foster of Charlotte, were reviewing NASA data for physics class.
A bright spot caught their attention. Vu says it was an image of a supernova remnant, "the expanding cloud of debris left after a star dies or explodes."
After months of work, the students confirmed the spot was a galaxy. Now the discoverers get to give it a common name. Its official name will be a combination of its source -- Chandra -- and its location markers.
Vu and Foster placed third in a national science competition in Washington recently, which teachers say begs the question -- what do you have to discover to win first place?
3rd?
