A Supernova Observed Just After It Occurred

We know that when stars complete their lives, they are destroyed in spectacular explosions called supernovae. However, this event is very difficult to observe, the probability of catching the last moments of a star in the infinity of space is very low.

With the help of clustered galaxies, an international team was able to measure three times the bright light emitted by a supernova in deep space. The information from these observations will also serve to test theories about the end of stars.

A supernova that even telescopes can’t see

The star itself is located quite far from our planet. As the last lights of this star, which is 11.5 billion light-years away, which we cannot view with any telescope, completed its journey to our planet, separating the light of the star from the lights of all other galaxies was a tough challenge.

When he was able to separate the lights of the star, scientists were able to reveal how this celestial body “lived and died”. Unusual twists and shifts in incoming light due to fluctuations in gravity managed to reveal the existence of the supernova. This configuration, called the Einstein transition, revealed information about the life of the star.

The flares and light changes, studied over eight days, showed that the supernova had cooled considerably in a week. This is shown as a development that will enable us to predict exactly how stars turn into supernovas in the future.

According to researchers, this star had reached 530 times the volume of our Sun before it exploded. Stars first expand considerably when their nuclear fuel runs out, and then collapse rapidly towards their own cores. After this collapse, they complete their lives with a giant nuclear explosion, a supernova. Thanks to the new observation, this process will be examined in much more detail.

The study was published in the journal Nature.