Astronomers captured the moment a star, 500 million light years from Earth, exploded

Treasure_Hunter

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,605
55,313
Florida
Detector(s) used
Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Pretty interesting if you like space.


Astronomers have captured the moment a star, 500 million light years from Earth, exploded in a dramatic supernova, marking the end of its life.

A type II supernova explosion happens when a very large star can no longer fuse atoms within its core, causing it to explode, shedding off its outer layers.

The supernova, named SN2021afdx, happened in the unusually shaped Cartwheel Galaxy, which sits in the Sculptor constellation.

Astronomers captured the image in December 2021 using the European Southern Observatory's New Technology Telescope (NTT) in Chile.

They then compared the image to one of the same galaxy, taken using the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in August 2014 - before the supernova explosion occurred.

A new, bright light can be seen in the lower left hand side of the new image, that isn't visible in the 2014 picture.

 

DizzyDigger

Gold Member
Dec 9, 2012
5,934
11,739
Concrete, WA
Detector(s) used
Nokta FoRs Gold, a Gold Cube, 2 Keene Sluices and Lord only knows how many pans....not to mention a load of other gear my wife still doesn't know about!
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Space is an amazing place...:occasion14:

That new little white dot is 500 MLY from Earth, seems not such a big
deal, BUT, that little white flash represents more energy than our sun will
make in it's entire lifetime...and whatever that solar system had built up
around that star is now nothing but dust.

Not to mention that it leaves behind something ominous..either a black
hole, or a neutron star, neither of which is good for the local neighborhood.
 

OP
OP
Treasure_Hunter

Treasure_Hunter

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,605
55,313
Florida
Detector(s) used
Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I don,t know all I probably should about space,but I know that,s cool!Kudos to those astronomers and thanks to Treasure_Hunter for posting it.
I love pictures of space, especially from the Hubble...
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top