hasanabbas1987 wrote You want to have an overview of the supernova astronomers have discovered the closest in the last 25 years? All you need to do is get a small telescope or binoculars (some digital SLR and would do very well). Astronomers think they could have found the supernova in a few hours of the initial explosion, Aug. 24. Generally, the supernovas are about 1 billion light years but it is only 21 million light years. The supernova is in the Pinwheel Galaxy, and you can see in the Great Bear.