Quark Stars?

One story from the AAS meeting that I haven't had the time to post about concerns the announcement from some Canadian astronomers that a few recent, superluminous supernovae may have marked the creation of some quark stars.

Not everybody agrees with the idea, but it would certainly be interesting if true. What's the connection to Palomar? On of the supernovae was co-discovered with the 48-inch Samuel Oschin Telescope. Read all about it here.