Scientists Spot Brightest Supernova yet, Outshines Milky Way - Rawan For Media Artistic and Production
An
international team revealed "the most powerful supernova observed in
human history" Thursday in the latest Science journal. The astronomers
used a network of telescopes around the world to spot the
record-breaking supernova last year.
Super
luminous supernovas — extra bright stellar explosions — are believed to
be rare. The newly discovered supernova is especially rare: It is more
than twice as luminous as any supernova observed to date, including the
previous record-holders.
At
its peak intensity, it is believed to be 20 times more luminous than
the entire Milky Way. Some estimates put it at 50 times brighter.
And try this statistic on for size: It is 570 billion times brighter at its peak than our sun.
Lead
author Subo Dong of China's Peking University said when he learned the
magnitude of the discovery last summer, he was "too excited to sleep the
rest of the night." Fellow researcher Benjamin Shappee of the Carnegie
Institution for Science in Pasadena, California, didn't believe the
results at first, which seemed "surreal."
"Discoveries
like this are the reason I am an astronomer," Shappee said in an email.
"Nature is extremely clever and it is often more imaginative than we
can be."
Labeled
ASASSN-15lh for the All-Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae and
pronounced "assassin," the mega blast is located in a galaxy perhaps 3.8
billion light-years away. The precise galaxy is unknown. There are
other puzzles as well.
"The
explosion's mechanism and power source remain shrouded in mystery
because all known theories meet serious challenges in explaining the
immense amount of energy ASASSN-15lh has radiated," Dong said in a
statement.
The
next step for scientists is to figure out its incredible power source.
Other super supernovas, like this one, could be out there. More
observatories are on the case, including some NASA spacecraft. The
Hubble Space Telescope will be pressed into service this year as well.
Dong said ASASSN-15lh "may lead to new thinking and new observations of the whole class of super luminous supernova."
By AP, 1 day 11 hours ago
Astronomers have discovered the brightest star explosion ever, a super supernova that easily outshines our entire Milky Way.
An
international team revealed "the most powerful supernova observed in
human history" Thursday in the latest Science journal. The astronomers
used a network of telescopes around the world to spot the
record-breaking supernova last year.
Super
luminous supernovas — extra bright stellar explosions — are believed to
be rare. The newly discovered supernova is especially rare: It is more
than twice as luminous as any supernova observed to date, including the
previous record-holders.
At
its peak intensity, it is believed to be 20 times more luminous than
the entire Milky Way. Some estimates put it at 50 times brighter.
And try this statistic on for size: It is 570 billion times brighter at its peak than our sun.
Lead
author Subo Dong of China's Peking University said when he learned the
magnitude of the discovery last summer, he was "too excited to sleep the
rest of the night." Fellow researcher Benjamin Shappee of the Carnegie
Institution for Science in Pasadena, California, didn't believe the
results at first, which seemed "surreal."
"Discoveries
like this are the reason I am an astronomer," Shappee said in an email.
"Nature is extremely clever and it is often more imaginative than we
can be."
Labeled
ASASSN-15lh for the All-Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae and
pronounced "assassin," the mega blast is located in a galaxy perhaps 3.8
billion light-years away. The precise galaxy is unknown. There are
other puzzles as well.
"The
explosion's mechanism and power source remain shrouded in mystery
because all known theories meet serious challenges in explaining the
immense amount of energy ASASSN-15lh has radiated," Dong said in a
statement.
The
next step for scientists is to figure out its incredible power source.
Other super supernovas, like this one, could be out there. More
observatories are on the case, including some NASA spacecraft. The
Hubble Space Telescope will be pressed into service this year as well.
Dong said ASASSN-15lh "may lead to new thinking and new observations of the whole class of super luminous supernova."
By AP, 1 day 11 hours ago
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