Latest news with #SNR0509-67.5
India Today
2 days ago
- Science
- India Today
Astronomers get first visual of a sun dying by detonating twice
In a first-of-its-kind observation, astronomers have obtained the visual evidence of a star dying by double detonation, when stars are known to disappear by giant European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope has studied the centuries-old remains of supernova SNR 0509-67.5 to confirm the patterns of dual back-to-back explosions obliterated a white dwarf that had a mass roughly equal to the sun and was located about 1,60,000 lightyears from Earth in the direction of the constellation Dorado in a galaxy near the Milky Way called the Large Magellanic Cloud. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km). This image shows the distribution of calcium in the supernova remnant SNR 0509-67.5. (Photo: ESO) advertisement "The explosions of white dwarfs play a crucial role in astronomy. Yet, despite their importance, the long-standing puzzle of the exact mechanism triggering their explosion remains unsolved," Priyam Das, a PhD student at the University of New South Wales Canberra, who led the study, details of the finding were published in the journal Nature Astronomy. Astronomers had long been suspecting that some stars do meet their end of life with a dual detonation and new images prove their hunch was right: at least some Type Ia supernovae explode through a 'double-detonation' mechanism instead."The time delay between the two detonations is essentially set by the time it takes the helium detonation to travel from one pole of the star all the way around to the other. It's only about two seconds," said astrophysicist and study co-author Ivo Seitenzahl, a visiting scientist at the Australian National University in Canberra. This image marks the position on the sky of the supernova remnant SNR 0509-67.5. (Photo: ESO) advertisementIn the more common type of supernova, a remnant of the massive exploded star is left behind in the form of a dense neutron star or a black hole.'This tangible evidence of a double-detonation not only contributes towards solving a long-standing mystery, but also offers a visual spectacle,' Priyam says, describing the 'beautifully layered structure' that a supernova creates. For him, 'revealing the inner workings of such a spectacular cosmic explosion is incredibly rewarding.'- EndsTrending Reel
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Science
- Indian Express
Can a star die twice? Scientists spot rare cosmic ‘double detonation'
For a long time, scientists believed that just like humans, stars died only once. Now, a rare sighting seems to change the widely held belief. Scientists from the European Space Observatory (ESO) have spotted the first-ever visual evidence of a double detonation of a star, meaning death twice. 'This tangible evidence of a double-detonation not only contributes towards solving a long-standing mystery, but also offers a visual spectacle,' said Priyam Das, a researcher from University of New South Wales who led the SNR 0509-67.5 study, in a statement. By using the Very Large Telescope (VLT) and the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument, ESO scientists observed the remains of supernova SNR 0509-67.5. Located more than 160,000 light-years away, the supernova remnant is believed to have formed more than 300 years ago. The remnants reportedly showed clear indications of the supernova's progenitor star exploding twice. This can give an indication that a small number of stars could become supernovas without having reached the Chandrasekhar limit. This limit indicates the minimum mass of a star in order to become a supernova, which is around 1.4 times the mass of the Sun. As per ESO's research and data from observatories using the Hubble Space Telescope, the SNR 0509-67.5 was confirmed to be a white dwarf star. These stars undergo supernova explosions termed as 'Type Ia supernovas', which are useful to scientists while measuring cosmic distances. This is since the light that these supernovas emit is uniform, giving them the nickname 'standard candles' by astronomers. Astronomy places importance on the explosions of white dwarfs. However, the exact mechanism that triggers their explosion is still a mystery. The common consensus among scientists is that the genesis of Type Ia supernovas is a binary system of stars, with one dying and becoming a white dwarf. If the dead white dwarf ends up orbiting too close to the second living star, then the white dwarf becomes a 'stellar vampire'. This subsequently draws material from its living companion star, until the white dwarf crosses the Chandrasekhar limit. Then, the white dwarf explodes in a Type Ia supernova, which was previously believed to cause an eruption that destroyed the white dwarf. However, this was never considered a closed-book by scientists, and this recent research has further established the possibility of double detonations in white dwarfs. As per the latest theory, when white dwarfs become stellar vampires and are drawing material from their donor stars, they end up engulfing themselves in stolen helium. This then becomes unstable and ignites, leading to the first detonation. This explosion then generates a shockwave rippling inward, which goes on to strike the white dwarf's core. This subsequently leads to the second detonation, which then leads to the formation of the actual supernova. This is notable since it can occur before the white dwarf's mass exceeds that of the Chandrasekhar limit. Scientists were able to determine that a double-detonation would cause a long-lasting 'fingerprint' with the wreckage of the supernova. This has been confirmed by its presence in the SNR 0509-67.5 wreckage. (This article has been curated by Purv Ashar, who is an intern with The Indian Express)
Forbes
3 days ago
- Science
- Forbes
First Ever ‘Double Supernova' Found In Night Sky — What To Know
This image, taken with ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT), shows the supernova remnant SNR 0509-67.5. Astronomers studying the night sky from the Southern Hemisphere have uncovered a supernova — the powerful explosion of a star — that appears to detonated twice. The unique discovery of the double-detonation supernova comes as two smaller nova explosions have caused stars to suddenly become visible to the naked eye. A supernova, according to NASA, is an extremely bright, super-powerful explosion of a star and the biggest explosion that humans have ever seen. Astronomers uncovered the rare double-detonation supernova by studying a 'cosmic bubble' — known as a supernova remnant — called SNR 0509-67.5. It's 23 light-years across and expanding at over 11 million miles per hour. It's previously been imaged by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. SNR 0509-67.5 is in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy that orbits the Milky Way about 160,000 light-years distant in the constellation Dorado. SNR 0509-67.5 is Type Ia supernovae, which are known to produce iron on Earth, including in blood. Understanding these explosions of white dwarf stars is critical to astronomers who use them to measure distances in space. How A Supernova Exploded Twice SNR 0509-67.5 is a Type Ia supernova, the result of two stars orbiting each other. One, a white dwarf star — the dense core of a dead sun-like star — sucks matter onto its surface from the other star until a thermonuclear explosion occurs. The new discovery of a double-detonation supports the theory that, in at least some Type Ia supernovae, the white dwarf can be covered by a bubble of helium that, when it ignites, causes a shockwave that triggers a second detonation in the core of the star. Astronomers predicted that if a double detonation had occurred, the remnant of the supernova would contain two separate shells of calcium. That's exactly what was observed using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile. The discovery was published today in Nature Astronomy. Hubble Spots A Supernova Earlier this year, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope imaged a supernova about 600 million light-years away in the constellation Gemini. Visible as a blue dot at the center of the image above, supernova SN 2022aajn is also a Type Ia supernova. Exactly these types of supernovae are useful for astronomers because they all have the same intrinsic luminosity. That means they can be used as beacons to measure the distance to faraway galaxies. Background Although they fall into the category of smaller explosions called a nova, two exploding stars are currently visible in the night sky. V572 Velorum, in the constellation Vela and V462 Lupi, in the constellation Lupus — only visible from the Southern Hemisphere — are currently shining millions of times brighter than usual. Later this year or next year, if predictions are correct, a star in the Northern Hemisphere called T Coronae Borealis (T CrB and 'Blaze Star') in the constellation Corona Borealis will explode and become visible to the naked eye for several nights. This star system, about 3,000 light-years away, is a recurrent nova, meaning it experiences predictable eruptions. The last time T CrB brightened noticeably was in 1946. Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
