A team of scientists has discovered a new way to study the behavior and intricacies of stellar explosions. They witnessed one just over two years ago, which is believed to be unprecedented for astronomy as this type of event had never before been caught on camera.
The explosion of a star at the end of its life cycle is one way that it can die dramatically and forcefully. The release of energy, chemicals into space makes this event important for everything happening on Earth because these substances have been known to affect our atmosphere!
When a star collapse, it suddenly expands and uses its core elements as fuel.
The team of astronomers watched the most studiously exciting event in recent history as it unfolded. September 2020 would be an unforgettable month for them, but they were not prepared for what came next- their observations have just been published and our universe is forever changed! When a star explodes, it quickly collapses itself and then explodes, using the hydrogen, helium, and other elements in its core as fuel.
When a star explodes, it quickly collapses itself and then explodes, using the hydrogen, helium, and other elements in its core as fuel.
“This is a breakthrough in our understanding of what massive stars do moments before they die,” said Wynn Jacobson-Galán, an astronomy National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow at the University of California Berkeley and the lead author of the study. “For the first time, we watched a red supergiant star explode!”
Astronomers looking for their next supernova star
scientists were able to capture the moment when a star went supernova in 2020. The massive space phenomenon occurred 120 million light-years away from Earth, and its remains may have been visible via telescope for up until last week before it gradually faded out of view over time because expanding debris blocked our line integral views towards this particular region at precisely 10:33 pm EST on December 4th (3 days ago).
Scientists have been following the star for years. They had noticed it changing in 2024 and were lucky enough that they still had time to observe its final moments before exploding!
The astronomers conducted their research at Keck Observatory using multiple telescopes, watching as this galaxy slowly evolved over 9 months from 2020-2024 into something more glorious than ever imagined possible by humans who first looked up after discoveries like Copernicus or Galileo Galilei made during The European Dark Ages (AD 600—1500).
The star displayed an unusual level of extra light in the last four months, causing a team to believe that red supergiants alter their behavior before exploding. This has never been considered before and they’re now investigating if it’s true for other stars as well!
The researchers have never seen such violence in a dying red supergiant star before. As it contraction and explosion, we can see how this luminous body manufactures elements that are eventually incorporated into other stars!
It’s time to find another supernova before it disappears! The team has been prepping for their next big discovery, and they’re not going down without a fight. The team is eager to find their next pre-supernova discovery so they can build on the momentum of work in Hawaii.
The discovery of a new supernova Event has unlocked many questions regarding stellar evolution and what we can expect in the final moments before our sun goes dark. “This is going to be impactful,” said Dr. Jacobson-Galán, outlining some potential impacts on theories that have yet been tested out experimentally by scientists researching this event further.”
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