Amateur astronomers were the first to spot the rapidly brightening object -- bright enough to be imaged by backyard astronomers.This event is also notable in that a professional team of astronomers were alerted to the supernova's presence through social media. Being in the "right place at the right time" & Twitter, astronomers from the Uni. of CA, Berkeley were able to quickly grab the spectrum of light being blasted from the site of violent stellar death. http://bit.ly/kP53Gg