Stargazers look through telescopes in Canberra, Australia, May 23, 2018. Australia has received Guinness World Record certificate for the most people simultaneously studying the night-time sky. (Xinhua/Zhu Nan)
CANBERRA, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Australia has received Guiness World Record certificate for the most people simultaneously studying the night-time sky.
More than 40,000 people observed the moon through telescopes for 10 minutes on Wednesday, according to organizers.
Stargazing Live was broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), in partnership with the Australian National University (ANU), and Australians across the country clinched the Guinness World Records title for an event that saw thousands of telescopes pointed at once at the night sky.
The numbers on Wednesday night eclipsed the previous record set by the ANU in 2015 of 7,960 people.
"It's great to break the world record for the number of people stargazing simultaneously, but I think this is only half the story," Stargazing Live host Professor Brian Cox said in a statement on Friday.
ABC co-host, Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, accepted the Guinness World Record certificate in Brisbane on Thursday. The citation read: "The most people stargazing at multiple venues was achieved by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Australian National University, Australia on May 23, 2018."
The star-gazers were rewarded with news of the discovery of a type la supernova, 1.1 billion light-years away. Further observations on Thursday night suggested a second type Ia blast slightly closer, a mere 945 million light years away.
The discoveries were made by the massive Anglo-Australian Telescope at the Siding Spring Observatory in the Warrumbungles region of north-central New South Wales.
Type Ia explosions (read type one-a) are the most prized of the Supernova Sighting project, run by the Australian National University (ANU) Skymapper team.
Also known as "standard candles", these supernovae enable astronomers to estimate the size of the cosmos and how fast it is expanding. Detecting two within 48 hours was quite a coup.
Stargazing Live, a three-night event, was organized by Australia's national broadcaster the ABC in partnership with the ANU.
Star parties across the country were hosted by community groups and organizations in every state and territory, from remote outback locations to metropolitan centres.
They included large public events in Canberra, Brisbane and Sydney, in 14 universities, more than 100 schools and eight observatories.
An ABC spokesperson said: "The real value is that many thousands of Australians have been introduced to the wonders of the night sky, and many of those will be children. They will develop a lifelong interest in astronomy and science, and the impact of that will be felt in decades to come.
"Perhaps the first Australian to walk on Mars will have been inspired by this spectacular night."
