supernova tagged posts

Imagine being able to view microscopic aspects of a classical nova, a massive stellar explosion on the surface of a white dwarf star (about as big as Earth), in a laboratory rather than from afar via a telescope.

Cosmic detonations of this scale and larger created many of the atoms in our bodies, says MSU’s Christopher Wrede, who presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting. A safe way to study these events in laboratories on Earth is to investigate the exotic nuclei or “rare isotopes” that influence them. “Astronomers observe exploding stars and astrophysicists model them on supercomputers,” said Wrede, physics assistant professor, MSU...

Molnar’s prediction is that a binary star (two stars orbiting each other) he is monitoring will merge and explode in 2022. Credit: Calvin College

Calvin College professor Larry Molnar et al are predicting a change to the night sky that will be visible to the naked eye. “It’s a 1-in-a-million chance that you can predict an explosion,” Molnar said. “It’s never been done before.” Molnar’s prediction is that a binary star he is monitoring will merge and explode in 2022, give or take a year; at which time the star will increase its brightness 10000X, becoming one of the brighter stars in the heavens for a time. The star will be visible as part of the constellation Cygnus, and will add a star to the recognizable Northern Cross star pattern.

Molnar’s exploration into the star known as KIC 98322...

NASA/JPL-Caltech/STScI/CXC/SAO Oceanic sediment contains an iron isotope that ancient bacteria accumulated 2.2 million years ago when debris rained on Earth from a supernova explosion. Shown are the remnants of a much younger supernova remnant, Cassiopeia A, shown in a composite image from three NASA observatories.

A team from Germany and Austria has found possible evidence of iron from a supernova in sediment cores taken from the floor of the Pacific Ocean. The study began when team members came across information regarding magnetotactic bacteria during internet searches. It is a type of bacteria that lives in ocean sediments and absorbs tiny amounts of iron. As sediment builds, the bacteria die leaving behind bits of iron in the layers of sediment...

The star in its short-lived, unstable, very hot, blue supergiant phase. Credit: CAASTRO/Mats Björklund (Magipics)

Astronomers have managed to peer into the past of a nearby star millions of years before its famous explosion, using a telescope in remote outback Australia at a site free from FM radio interference. Research by an international team including astronomers at the International Centre of Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) observing the region at the lowest-ever radio frequencies has helped fine-tune our understanding of stellar explosions.

The research paints a picture of the star’s life long before its death in what was the closest and brightest supernova seen from Earth, now known as supernova remnant 1987A, which collapsed spectacularly almost 30 years ago...