Kaboom kaboom. That’s what an international team of astronomers saw when they tracked the death of one of the most massive stars that can exist.
Japanese supernova hunter, Koichi Itagaki, first discovered an exploding star in the galaxy UGC4904 back in 2004. It flared briefly and then faded away over the course of 10 days. Two years later, he discovered another supernova in exactly the same location.
Subsequent observations with larger telescopes confirmed that the supernova, named SN2006jc, did indeed happen at exactly the same location as the previous detonation. The 2004 event must have just been a large outburst, similar to what was seen on Eta-Carinae back in the 1850s.
The researchers think this kind of event could actually be more common than previously believed. A new survey called Pan-STARRS may check up on previous supernova events to see if there’s any new activity.
Original Source: Queen’s University Belfast News Release
An 11-page document that's attributed to a Pentagon whistleblower has provided new cases in the…
One of the most challenging aspects of astrobiology and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI)…
Navigating the harsh terrain of other rocky worlds has consistently been challenging. The Free Spirit…
Mars has been a fascination to us for centuries. Early observations falsely gave impressions of…
NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab has announced a second round of layoffs for 2024, this time…
Will we ever understand how life got started on Earth? We've learned much about Earth's…