12/23/2023 0 Comments Super nova![]() ![]() In 1054, a supernova occurred in our Milky Way galaxy that was so bright, it could be seen in the sky during the daytime around the world for 23 days – and it remained visible in the night sky for almost two years. “This study significantly increases our understanding of the final stages of stellar evolution.”įilippenko said the fact that the researchers had access to Hubble images showing the star before and after exploding helped them confirm the type of supernova that occurred.Īnd this type of supernova is likely responsible for a nebula that lit up the skies almost a thousand years ago, according to the researchers. “This is the best known case for this interesting category of supernovae that is in between the mass range for the exploding white dwarf and the iron core of a massive star that collapses and then rebounds and leads to an explosion, the so-called core-collapse supernovae,” said Alex Filippenko, a professor of astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley, in a statement. ![]() NASAĪstronauts installed a giant solar panel outside the space stationīecause these stars exist within a limited mass range, they aren’t light enough to prevent their cores from collapsing, but they also aren’t heavy enough to create life-prolonging heavier elements, like iron. (June 20, 2021) - Spacewalkers (from left) Shane Kimbrough and Thomas Pesquet work to complete the installation of a roll out solar arrays on the International Space Station's P-6 truss structure. “We started by asking ‘what’s this weirdo?’ Then we examined every aspect of SN 2018zd and realized that all of them can be explained in the electron-capture scenario,” Hiramatsu said. These SAGB stars, which are rare, are bloated old red giant stars. These include a strong loss of mass prior to the supernova, a weak explosion, small radioactivity, a core rich in elements like oxygen, neon and magnesium, and a Super-Asymptotic Giant Branch type star. It also matched the other five criteria in Nomoto’s theory required for the proposed supernova type. Nomoto’s theory about these supernovae suggests that they carry an unusual chemical signature after occurring, which the researchers observed in 2018zd’s data. The more data they collected, the more the researchers realized this may be the first example of an electron capture supernova. Understanding the electron capture supernovaĭaichi Hiramatsu, a graduate student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Las Cumbres Observatory, led an observation team that gathered data on the 2018zd supernova for two years after it was first observed. “There are many links still missing, so this is very exciting.” “One of the main questions in astronomy is to compare how stars evolve and how they die,” said Stefano Valenti, study coauthor and professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Davis, in a statement. Mars helicopter takes it to the limit with more groundbreaking flights This image was captured by the Mastcam-Z imager aboard NASA's Perseverance Mars rover on the following sol, April 8, 2021. NASA's Ingenuity helicopter unlocked its blades, allowing them to spin freely, on April 7, 2021, the 47th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. What remains is a dense neutron star with a little more mass than our sun.Ī study based on the new research published Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy. This sudden drop in electron pressure triggers a collapse and the star buckles beneath its own weight. As the star’s core loses fuel, gravitational forces push the core’s electrons and fuse them with atomic nuclei. This third, previously unobserved type is referred to as an electron capture supernova – and it was orginally described by Nomoto in 1980. The other type is called a thermonuclear supernova, and it occurs when a low-mass star remnant called a white dwarf – usually less than eight times the mass of our sun – explodes after pulling matter from a companion star into itself.īut what happens to star between eight and 10 solar masses, such as the star involved in supernova 2018zd? They explode a little differently. ![]() During a core-collapse supernova, a massive star (more than 10 times the mass of our sun) exhausts its fuel and the star’s core caves in to a black hole or a dense remnant called a neutron star. Typically, supernovae occur in two flavors. The main support that prevents stars from collapsing beneath the weight of their own gravity is the energy in their core. Mysterious ancient 'dragon man' joins the human family tree ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |