Medusa in the mirror...

No we didn't look at a distant supernova. We used a reflecting telescope, so we saw actually saw its reflection in a mirror, instead.

Physics can get pretty strange, though, Schroedinger's Cat and Uncertainty Principle suggest the act of observation determines the nature of the observation by collapsing the quantum state. If this can be extended into the macro universe, perhaps we can affect the universe simply by observing it. Sort of, "unless a tree falls in the forest, no one will ever be around to hear it". One of the variants of the Anthropic Principle states the universe NEEDS observers in order to exist. This explains why the universe had to create intelligences to observe it. The act of observation in the present somehow reaches back into the past and makes the universe real.

Then again, when philosphers were trying to figure out whether light was something emitted by objects, or something emitted by our eyes in order to see things, the question wasn't actually settled until some wag pointed out "When you stare at the sun, it's your eyes that hurt."

I guess in order to really get to the bottom of this, we'll have to consult SDAI. I'm sure he'll have all the answers.