Brightest-ever supernova discovered – IOTW Report

Brightest-ever supernova discovered

Thursday, 16 April 2020, 18:30 MJA Uncategorized 14

A supernova at least twice as bright and energetic, and likely much more massive than any yet recorded has been identified by an international team of astronomers, led by the University of Birmingham.

WUWT: The team, which included experts from Harvard, Northwestern University and Ohio University, believe the supernova, dubbed SN2016aps, could be an example of an extremely rare ‘pulsational pair-instability’ supernova, possibly formed from two massive stars that merged before the explosion. Their findings are published today in Nature Astronomy.

Such an event so far only exists in theory and has never been confirmed through astronomical observations.

Dr Matt Nicholl, of the School of Physics and Astronomy and the Institute of Gravitational Wave Astronomy at the University of Birmingham, is lead author of the study. He explains: “We can measure supernovae using two scales – the total energy of the explosion, and the amount of that energy that is emitted as observable light, or radiation.

“In a typical supernova, the radiation is less than 1 per cent of the total energy. But in SN2016aps, we found the radiation was five times the explosion energy of a normal-sized supernova. This is the most light we have ever seen emitted by a supernova.”

In order to become this bright, the explosion must have been much more energetic than usual. By examining the light spectrum, the team were able to show that the explosion was powered by a collision between the supernova and a massive shell of gas, shed by the star in the years before it exploded. more here

14 Comments on Brightest-ever supernova discovered

  1. Why it wasn’t too long ago when an amateur ASStronomer named Petey B discovered the brightest unbleached elastic starfish in the universe!

    1

  2. Always been fascinated how a celestial image through a telescope can sometimes look like an organic image under a microscope??

    When I saw the thumbnail photo, I thought it was a story about Whuflu??

    I need to ‘focus’ more…

    10

  4. @ghost.

    I was exactly on the same page.

    Do scientists only have one stock image for all their stories?

    It’s a supernova. No it’s a super virus. It’s a floor wax. No it’s a dessert topping.

    Shut up you towel!!!!

    You have to be old enough to get that last part from an ancient SNL reference.

    7

  5. ” … the explosion was powered by a collision between the supernova and a massive shell of gas

    not surprising that Moose’s flatulence from all those lobster chittlin’s at the White House is destroying the universe

    4

  6. @PHenry – I have taken high mag pics of Jupiter, with my dopey 25x zoom point and shoot camera with tripod, that looks like an image of your eyeball. Really.

    Watched SNL, in the beginning, but cannot reference that one!? Sounds like Belushi?

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  13. “…‘pulsational pair-instability’ supernova, possibly formed from two massive stars that merged before the explosion.”

    ..and then they sat back and had a cigarette.

    2

  14. This is the result of a Demonrat (or one of their stooges in Academia or the Media) speaking the Truth.
    Total annihilation – that’s why they avoid it.

    You could look it up.

    izlamo delenda est …

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