Astronomers get first visual of a sun dying by detonating twice
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, said.The 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
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
3 days ago
- 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
4 days ago
- 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)
Economic Times
5 days ago
- Economic Times
Dinosaur in the space: Astronomers discover ancient galaxy untouched for 7 billion years
Astronomers have confirmed the discovery of KiDS J0842+0059, a rare, ancient galaxy that has remained virtually unchanged for over 7 billion years. This "cosmic fossil," located 3 billion light-years away, offers a glimpse into the early universe, having experienced minimal interaction with other galaxies. Its pristine state allows researchers to study the formation and evolution of the first galaxies. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Astronomers have confirmed the discovery of a rare, ancient galaxy that has remained virtually unchanged for over 7 billion years, offering a rare glimpse into the early universe The galaxy , known as KiDS J0842+0059, is being hailed as a 'cosmic fossil' due to its pristine and undisturbed state. Researchers say it has experienced little to no interaction with other galaxies since its formation, allowing it to retain its original structure.A cosmic fossil is a galaxy that has managed to remain unchanged by collisions and interactions with other galaxies. That means they can act as pristine time capsules to help astronomers study earlier galaxies.'We have discovered a galaxy that has been 'perfectly preserved' for billions of years, a true archaeological find that tells us how the first galaxies were born and helps us understand how the universe has evolved to this day,' said Crescenzo Tortora, co-leader of the research team from Italy's National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF).The findings were made using observations from several leading instruments, including the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) and the Very Large Telescope (VLT), which allowed astronomers to confirm the galaxy's compact size and stellar mass, approximately 100 billion times that of the J0842+0059 was first identified in 2018 during the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS). More recent high-resolution imaging from LBT provided a clearer picture of the galaxy's structure, ruling out prior uncertainties.'This is the first time that we have been able to do this with such high-resolution data for a galaxy relic so far away,' said Chiara Spiniello, a researcher at the University of Oxford and a member of the research galaxy, located 3 billion light-years from Earth, has shown almost no signs of star formation over billions of years, which is unusual for galaxies of its size. Most galaxies continue to evolve through collisions and mergers, which trigger bursts of new star formation. In contrast, KiDS J0842+0059 appears to have remained dormant and isolated.'Fossil galaxies are like the dinosaurs of the universe,' Tortora said. 'Studying them allows us to understand in which environmental conditions they formed and how the most massive galaxies we see today evolved.'The team compared KiDS J0842+0059 to NGC 1277, another well-known relic galaxy located much closer to Earth in the Perseus Cluster. Both share compact structures and similar characteristics, but KiDS J0842+0059 is far more distant, making it a rare observational researchers hope that future observations, particularly with the upcoming Euclid space telescope, will help identify more fossil galaxies and further refine models of galaxy formation and cosmic evolution.
