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Stars Are Exploding in Dusty Galaxies.
We Just Can’t Always See Them.
Stars Are Exploding in Dusty Galaxies.
We Just Can’t Always See Them.
NASA JPL, SyFy, The Meridian Podcast
You’d think that supernovae – the death throes of massive stars and among the brightest, most powerful explosions in the universe – would be hard to miss. Yet the number of these blasts observed in the distant parts of the universe falls way short of astrophysicists’ predictions.
A new study using data from NASA’s recently retired Spitzer Space Telescope reports the detection of five supernovae that, going undetected in optical light, had never been seen before. Spitzer saw the universe in infrared light, which pierces through dust clouds that block optical light – the kind of light our eyes see and that unobscured supernovae radiate most brightly.
Hubble captures first image
of surviving companion to a supernova
Hubble captures first image
of surviving companion to a supernova
Seventeen years ago, astronomers witnessed supernova 2001ig go off 40 million light-years away in the galaxy NGC 7424, in the southern constellation Grus, the Crane. Shortly after SN 2001ig exploded, scientists photographed the supernova with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in 2002. Two years later, they followed up with the Gemini South Observatory, which hinted at the presence of a surviving binary companion. As the supernova’s glow faded, scientists focused Hubble on that location in 2016. They pinpointed and photographed the surviving companion, which was possible only due to Hubble’s exquisite resolution and ultraviolet sensitivity. Hubble observations of SN 2001ig provide the best evidence yet that some supernovas originate in double-star systems.
After 21 years on the Case,
Astronomers Track Down Thieving Star
After 21 years on the Case,
Astronomers Track Down Thieving Star
Over two decades ago, scientists discovered a supernova, or exploding star, named SN 1993J. Located 11 million light-years away in the Messier 81 galaxy, the supernova was of an unusual type -- it had less hydrogen than your usual stellar explosion. Because of this, astronomers always thought it must have a companion star. The companion star would have stolen hydrogen from the first before it went supernova, leaving behind a mostly-hydrogen shell. In a recent study published in the Astrophysical Journal, researchers report that they've finally fingered the culprit.
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