Astronomers have discovered that a baby supernova can tell how stars are made. The explosion of the supernova after it was born was very informative as astronomers can now know why and how it happens.
Supernovas are the brightest star in their galaxy. Space has reported that baby supernovas are born when a giant, old one has ran out of fuel and has exploded. There were glimpses of previous explosions of these stars but not like this one. This time, astronomers saw light from a newborn supernova. However they did not capture radio waves, visible light, wavelengths and X-rays.
The study also shed some light and confirmed the theory that the dying stars signal their forthcoming end with a discharge of disk of materials months before their deaths. According to NASA, astronomers went gaga over the newborn supernova. Its measurements were taken by NASA's Kepler and Swift spacecraft. The newborn supernova was discovered just three hours after the supernova exploded.
Scientists have captured "the earliest spectra ever taken of a supernova explosion," said study lead author Ofer Yaron, an astrophysicist at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel. The event is totally new. Several years ago, scientists only discover new stars after a week of explosion. However, it is not the case anymore. The type II supernova was the one that was discovered. It also spewed the same type.
Kepler's extraordinary pre-event supernova observations and Swift's quickness in responding to supernova events have both produced significant discoveries at the same time but at very different wavelengths. "Not only do we get insight into what triggers a Type Ia supernova, but these data allow us to better calibrate Type Ia supernovae as standard candles, and that has implications for our ability to eventually understand the mysteries of dark energy," says Paul Hertz, Director of Astrophysics
Scientists were awed at how this all came to be. However, there are still many things to learn. The type of stars that will die soon are very rare so such findings might occur long time from now. They are also hoping that they will discover and uncover more facts about how stars are born.
