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Astronomers witness supergiant star’s death in real-time (VIDEO) | Astronomers witness supergiant star’s death in real-time (VIDEO) |
(about 3 hours later) | |
What they saw defied previous beliefs about how these stars behaved right before blowing up | What they saw defied previous beliefs about how these stars behaved right before blowing up |
For the first time ever, scientists were able to track a red supergiant in real-time during its final 130 days, watching the massive star’s rapid self-destruction and death throes before a violent explosion. | For the first time ever, scientists were able to track a red supergiant in real-time during its final 130 days, watching the massive star’s rapid self-destruction and death throes before a violent explosion. |
It was previously believed that red supergiant stars remained calm and didn’t show any symptoms of approaching demise – like eruptions or luminous emissions – ahead of their collapse into a type II supernova. | It was previously believed that red supergiant stars remained calm and didn’t show any symptoms of approaching demise – like eruptions or luminous emissions – ahead of their collapse into a type II supernova. |
But a new study by astronomers at Northwestern University and the University of California, Berkeley suggests that things actually happen differently, having detected bright radiation coming from a red supergiant star before it exploded. | But a new study by astronomers at Northwestern University and the University of California, Berkeley suggests that things actually happen differently, having detected bright radiation coming from a red supergiant star before it exploded. |
This could mean that at least some supergiants undergo significant internal transformation over time, which leads to spectacular ejections of gas ahead of their deaths. | This could mean that at least some supergiants undergo significant internal transformation over time, which leads to spectacular ejections of gas ahead of their deaths. |
The scientists created an animated video of what they witnessed when the star self-destructed and collapsed. | The scientists created an animated video of what they witnessed when the star self-destructed and collapsed. |
“For the first time, we watched a red supergiant star explode,” said Wynn Jacobson-Galan, the paper’s lead author, calling the team’s work “a breakthrough in our understanding of what massive stars do moments before they die.” | |
The bright radiation coming from a doomed massive star was first detected in the summer of 2020 by researchers at the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy. | The bright radiation coming from a doomed massive star was first detected in the summer of 2020 by researchers at the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy. |
A few months later, a supernova lit up the sky, and Jacobson-Galan’s team were able to witness the violent event in real time, using the W.M. Keck Observatory’s Low Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (LRIS) on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. | |
“The data showed direct evidence of dense circumstellar material surrounding the star at the time of explosion,” the astronomers pointed out. | “The data showed direct evidence of dense circumstellar material surrounding the star at the time of explosion,” the astronomers pointed out. |
They named the powerful explosion supernova 2020tlf (SN 2020tlf), saying it was caused by a star that was 10 times bigger that our Sun and located around 120 million light-years away from Earth. | |
“It’s like watching a ticking time bomb,” Raffaella Margutti, the paper’s senior author, said about the team’s observation. “We’ve never confirmed such violent activity in a dying red supergiant star where we see it produce such a luminous emission, then collapse and combust, until now.” | “It’s like watching a ticking time bomb,” Raffaella Margutti, the paper’s senior author, said about the team’s observation. “We’ve never confirmed such violent activity in a dying red supergiant star where we see it produce such a luminous emission, then collapse and combust, until now.” |
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