Hubble Space Telescope image of supernova 1994D in galaxy NGC 4526 © NASA/ESA
A new math model details a way that dead stars called white dwarfs could detonate, producing a type of explosion that is instrumental to measuring the extreme distances in our universe. The mechanism, described in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, could improve our understanding of how Type Ia supernovae form. “Type Ia supernovae are extremely important objects in physics, best known for their role in revealing that the expansion of the universe is accelerating,” said Prof. Saavik Ford. “The problem is that people do not agree on exactly how Type Ia supernovae come to be.”
Current research indicates that Type Ia supernova explosions originate from binary star systems – two stars orbiting one...
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