Hubble discovers premature supernova
Posted: Tue, Mar 24, 2009, 6:31 AM ET (1031 GMT)
Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have discovered a supermassive star that appears to have gone supernova earlier in its life than expected. The supernova, SN 2005gl, was spotted in Hubble archive images from 1997, sight years before it exploded. At the time the star was about 100 times the mass of the Sun and likely belonged to a class of supergiant stars called Luminous Blue Variables. According to models of such stars, this star should not have developed a iron core, the "ash" of fusion reactions, needed to trigger the supernova. Astronomers speculate that this star may have actually been a binary system that looked brighter and less evolved than it actually was, or that there may be other mechanisms for triggering supernova explosions.
Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have discovered a supermassive star that appears to have gone supernova earlier in its life than expected. The supernova, SN 2005gl, was spotted in Hubble archive images from 1997, sight years before it exploded. At the time the star was about 100 times the mass of the Sun and likely belonged to a class of supergiant stars called Luminous Blue Variables. According to models of such stars, this star should not have developed a iron core, the "ash" of fusion reactions, needed to trigger the supernova. Astronomers speculate that this star may have actually been a binary system that looked brighter and less evolved than it actually was, or that there may be other mechanisms for triggering supernova explosions.| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
California commission votes against increase in SpaceX Vandenberg launches
Posted: Sun, Aug 17 11:32 AM ET (1532 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Thursday, August 21
SpaceX’s Expensive Starship Explosions Are Starting to Add Up
Bloomberg News — 5:02 am ET (0902 GMT) Abolition of independent UK Space Agency welcomed by industry
New Civil Engineer — 5:00 am ET (0900 GMT) Webb Telescope Images Previously Unknown Moon of Uranus
Aviation Week — 4:59 am ET (0859 GMT) The true cost of colonizing space
Baltimore Sun — 4:58 am ET (0858 GMT) FAA’s informed consent rules leave space tourists flying blind
Space News — 4:58 am ET (0858 GMT) |
