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Milton Bradley · May 8, 2007, 04:33 pm

SPACE.com -- Astronomers Astonished by 'Monstrous' Star Explosion

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Scientists have detected a stellar explosion that is the brightest and most energetic ever recorded, and which could be the first evidence of a new type of supernova fueled by an antimatter engine.

The "SN 2006gy" explosion occurred in a galaxy 240 million light-years away, called NGC 1260, and was 100 times more energetic than typical supernovas. It was detected in September 2006 using ground-based telescopes and NASA's Chandra X-ray space observatory. It brightened slowly for 70 days, and at its peak emitted more than 50 billion Suns worth of light-shining 10 times brighter than its host galaxy-before dimming slowly. Most supernovas reach peak brightness in days to a few weeks.

"Of all exploding stars ever observed, this was the king," said Alex Filippenko of the University of California, Berkeley, who led ground-based observations of the supernova at Lick Observatory in California and Keck Observatory in Hawaii. "We were astonished to see how bright it got and how long it lasted."

The monster supernova suggests the first stars that illuminated the universe died in explosive lightshows. "We may have witnessed a modern-day version of how the first generation of the most massive stars ended their lives," Filippenko said.

Astrophysicists also think the supernova could be a preview of what they will see when a massive star in our own galaxy explodes.

I'm leary to buy into the "theres only one way for supernovas to explode" theory, so maybe this will help shed a little light on the subject.

I suspect that the explosions correlate to the fuel the star was burning when it went critical. ( The current theory holds that iron is the heaviest element that stars can fuse. )

5010 · May 8, 2007, 05:09 pm

I wonder how they conclude the star is inside NGC 1260 and not between us and NGC 1260.

**Pooeypants** · May 8, 2007, 06:32 pm

God, if this was 4 years ago, ironically, I'd have the knowledge to comprehend how they worked it out (at a rudimentary level).
Impressive, just imagine, some day a relatively close supernova could happen and irradiate the entire planet...

ZNFYRH · May 9, 2007, 09:30 am

Milton

You are correct.

The nova depends on the material in the core at the time of critical mass.

Not all stars burn the same, nor do they all contain the same material.

I think they are proposing that if there was a quantity of anti-matter, or even dark matter, fueling that star, it would be a possible reason for the intense explosion.

May 8, 2007, 05:09 pm	#2 (permalink) (top)
5010 mostly harmless Location: USA Posts: 1,284	I wonder how they conclude the star is inside NGC 1260 and not between us and NGC 1260. - solo (my site)

May 8, 2007, 06:32 pm	#3 (permalink) (top)
Pooeypants Neo Moderator Location: England Posts: 5,609	God, if this was 4 years ago, ironically, I'd have the knowledge to comprehend how they worked it out (at a rudimentary level). Impressive, just imagine, some day a relatively close supernova could happen and irradiate the entire planet... War is Peace Freedom is Slavery Ignorance is strength Harness the power of Ingsoc, then you can capture someone killed the year before

May 9, 2007, 09:30 am	#4 (permalink) (top)
ZNFYRH Volcanic Erupter Posts: 4,375	Milton You are correct. The nova depends on the material in the core at the time of critical mass. Not all stars burn the same, nor do they all contain the same material. I think they are proposing that if there was a quantity of anti-matter, or even dark matter, fueling that star, it would be a possible reason for the intense explosion.