All articles tagged with #supernova
Hubble released a new image of the Crab Nebula, the remnant of a supernova observed in 1054 A.D., showing that its outer gas filaments have evolved and are moving faster than the inner regions over the past 25 years, a motion driven by the nebula’s central pulsar.
Astronomers have for the first time witnessed the birth of a magnetar—an ultra-strongly magnetized neutron star—at the heart of a rare, superluminous supernova (SN 2024afav). The event’s peculiar light curve, including four diminishing “chirps” caused by a Lense–Thirring precession of a disk around the newborn magnetar, provides the first observational link between such births and magnetar-powered superluminous explosions, with the object estimated to spin ~4.2 milliseconds and harbor a magnetic field about 300 trillion times Earth's.
An upgrade to Japan’s Super-Kamiokande underground neutrino detector could soon pick up neutrinos from supernovae that exploded billions of years ago, enabling scientists to study the deaths of stars across cosmic history through these ghost particles that rarely interact with matter.
A distant Type I superluminous supernova, SN 2025wny at z=2.01, was gravitationally lensed by a foreground galaxy into four images arriving at different times. By analyzing these time delays and light curves, astronomers aim to refine measurements of the universe's expansion and shed light on dark energy, potentially addressing the Hubble tension.
Astronomers have confirmed the births of a magnetar—a highly magnetized, rapidly spinning neutron star—within a rapidly bright supernova, SN 2024afav. Analysis of the 200‑day light curve revealed four chirps caused by a wobbling accretion disk around the newborn magnetar, with general relativity’s frame‑dragging explaining the timing. The magnetar spins about 238 times per second and possesses a magnetic field hundreds of trillions of times stronger than Earth's, providing definitive evidence for the magnetar–superluminous supernova connection.
Astronomers say WOH G64, a red supergiant in the Large Magellanic Cloud about 165,000 light-years away and roughly 30 solar masses with a radius over 1,500 suns, is likely transitioning toward a yellow hypergiant after shedding outer layers; this may lead to a spectacular end in a supernova or direct collapse into a black hole, with the fate expected to unfold over hundreds to thousands of years in cosmic time.
Astronomers tracking the star WOH G64 in the Large Magellanic Cloud have observed it change from a red supergiant into a rare yellow hypergiant, a dramatic and unusually slow transformation that could mark the star’s evolution toward a core-collapse supernova or direct black-hole formation. The object, about 28 solar masses and roughly 1,540 times the Sun’s size, may be part of a binary system, with interactions potentially influencing its path to death. While this hints at a possible explosive finale, the final fate remains uncertain and would likely occur on timescales of hundreds to thousands of years rather than within our lifetime; the findings were reported in Nature.
New research finds that WOH G64, one of the universe’s largest stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud, shifted from a red supergiant to a yellow hypergiant around 2014, likely shedding mass as its core contracts and heats. If confirmed, this rapid evolution could herald an imminent supernova, offering a rare chance to observe a star dying in real time.
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope under the VENUS program have identified two gravitationally lensed supernovas, SN Ares and SN Athena. The foreground galaxy cluster MJ0308 splits their light into multiple images; the delayed images will reach Earth in the future—Ares in about 60 years and Athena within the next 1–2 years—providing a rare, self-consistent way to measure cosmic distances and constrain the Hubble constant, potentially helping resolve the ongoing disagreement over the universe’s expansion rate.
A 13-solar-mass yellow supergiant in the Andromeda Galaxy (M31-2014-DS1) brightened in 2014 but faded by 2018 without a canonical supernova. Two studies offer competing explanations: one proposes a failed supernova—a direct collapse into a black hole shrouded in dust that hides X‑ray emissions—leaving a faint red source surrounded by a dust shell. A second team questions this, noting no X‑ray activity and suggesting a stellar merger could produce the observed infrared glow and dust, with the central source possibly reappearing as the dust dissipates. Ongoing JWST observations and further monitoring are needed to confirm whether the star collapsed invisibly, merged, or will brighten again.
Scientists detected a powerful gamma-ray burst from a supernova that exploded when the universe was only 730 million years old, making it the most distant such event ever observed. The discovery, confirmed by multiple telescopes including JWST, challenges previous assumptions about early star formation, showing that even in the universe's infancy, stars could undergo processes similar to those seen today.
A NASA timelapse video showcases 25 years of expansion of Kepler's Supernova remnant, revealing rapid changes in the explosion's debris, which helps astronomers understand supernova dynamics and element distribution in the universe.
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope observations suggest Betelgeuse has a hidden companion star named Siwarha, which influences its brightness variations and may help explain its dimming behavior, providing insights into the star's evolution and potential supernova event.
NASA's Earth Observatory highlights the Large Magellanic Cloud, a nearby dwarf galaxy rich in star formation, captured from the International Space Station, offering insights into stellar life cycles and cosmic phenomena like supernovae.
Recent studies suggest that dark energy, which is driving the universe's expansion, may be weakening, potentially leading to a reversal of expansion and a possible 'Big Crunch' instead of the previously believed continuous acceleration. This challenges current cosmological models and has sparked significant debate among astronomers.