supernova
A Star Threw Off a Sun’s Worth of Material. And Then it Exploded!
What happens just before a massive star explodes as a supernova? To figure that out, astronomers need to look at…
Astronomers Have Been Watching a Supernova’s Debris Cloud Expand for Decades with Hubble
Twenty thousand years ago, a star in the constellation Cygnus went supernova. Like all supernovae, the explosion released a staggering…
Astronomers Watched a Massive Star Just… Disappear. Now JWST Might Have Some Answers
In 2009, astronomers watched a bizarre mystery unfold. An enormous star, with 25 times the mass of the Sun, faded…
Supernovae Struck the Earth 3 Million and 7 Million Years Ago
A recent study examines how the Earth was hit by blasts from supernovae (plural form of supernova (SN)) that occurred…
This 3D Simulation of a Supernova Needed 5 Million Hours of Supercomputing
When the largest stars in the Universe run out of fuel, they detonate as supernovae, collapsing inward and leaving behind…
A New Observatory Will Spot Core-Collapse Supernovae Before They Explode
Although we haven't had a supernova explode nearby in a few hundred years, it's just a matter of time before…
The Closest Supernova Seen in the Modern Era, Examined by JWST
In 1987, a supernova suddenly appeared in the Large Magellanic Cloud and was studied by astronomers worldwide. Although the detonating…
Did this Supernova Explode Twice?
All supernovae are exploding stars. But the nature of a supernova explosion varies quite a bit. One type, named Type…
Supernovae are the Source of Dust in Early Galaxies
Dust is the building block for much of the Universe, including the planet you were born on. But where did…
Astronomers See the Same Supernova Four Times Thanks to a Gravitational Lens
Thanks to a well-placed gravitational lens, a team of astronomers was able to observe a supernova four times!