Supernovae, Do They Really Destroy Stars?
Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured the quick, fading celebrity status of a supernova, the self-detonation of a star. The Hubble snapshots have been assembled into a telling movie of the titanic stellar blast disappearing into oblivion in the spiral galaxy NGC 2525, located 70 million light-years away. Hubble began observing SN 2018gv in February 2018, after the supernova was first detected by amateur astronomer Koichi Itagaki a few weeks earlier in mid-January. Hubble astronomers were using the supernova as part of a program to precisely measure the expansion rate of the universe—a key value in understanding the physical underpinnings of the cosmos. The supernova serves as a milepost maker to measure galaxy distances, a fundamental value needed for measuring the expansion of space. The supernova appears as a blazing star located on the galaxy's outer edge in the lower left portion of the frame. It initially outshines the brightest stars in the galaxy before fading out of sight. The time-lapse video consists of observations taken from February 2018 to February 2019. Credit: NASA, ESA, and A. Riess (STScI/JHU) and the SH0ES team
When a star unleashes as much energy in a matter of days as our Sun does in several billion years, you know it's not going to remain visible for long.
Like intergalactic paparazzi, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured the quick, fading celebrity status of a supernova, the self-detonation of a star. The Hubble snapshots have been assembled into a telling movie of the titanic stellar blast disappearing into oblivion in the spiral galaxy NGC 2525, located 70 million light-years away.
Hubble began observing SN 2018gv in February 2018, after the supernova was first detected by amateur astronomer Koichi Itagaki a few weeks earlier in mid-January. Hubble astronomers were using the supernova as part of a program to precisely measure the expansion rate of the universe—a key value in understanding the physical underpinnings of the cosmos. The supernova serves as a milepost maker to measure galaxy distances, a fundamental value needed for measuring the expansion of space.
In the time-lapse sequence, spanning nearly a year, the supernova first appears as a blazing star located on the galaxy's outer edge. It initially outshines the brightest stars in the galaxy before fading out of sight.
"No Earthly fireworks display can compete with this supernova, captured in its fading glory by the Hubble Space Telescope," said Nobel Laureate Adam Riess of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) and Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, Maryland, leader of the High-z Supernova Search Team and the Supernovae H0 for the Equation of State (SH0ES) Team to measure the universe's expansion rate.
The type of supernova seen in this sequence originated from a burned-out star—a white dwarf located in a close binary system—that is accreting material from its companion star. When the white dwarf reaches a critical mass, its core becomes hot enough to ignite nuclear fusion, turning it into a giant atomic bomb. This thermonuclear runaway process tears the dwarf apart. The opulence is short-lived as the fireball fades away.
Because supernovae of this type all peak at the same brightness, they are known as "standard candles," which act as cosmic tape measures. Knowing the actual brightness of the supernova and observing its brightness in the sky, astronomers can calculate the distances of their host galaxies. This allows astronomers to measure the expansion rate of the universe. Over the past 30 years Hubble has helped dramatically improve the precision of the universe's expansion rate.
Provided by ESA/Hubble Information Centre
source: phys.org
Hubble Observes Spectacular Supernova Time-Lapse – “No Earthly Fireworks Display Can Compete”
Pictured here is part of the captivating galaxy NGC 2525. Located nearly 70 million light-years from Earth, this galaxy is part of the constellation of Puppis in the southern hemisphere. Together with the Carina and the Vela constellations, it makes up an image of the Argo from ancient greek mythology.
On the left, a brilliant supernova is clearly visible in the image. The supernova is formally known as SN2018gv and was first spotted in mid-January 2018. The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captured the supernova in NGC 2525 as part of one of its major investigations; measuring the expansion rate of the Universe, which can help answer fundamental questions about our Universe’s very nature. Supernovae like this one can be used as cosmic tape measures, allowing astronomers to calculate the distance to their galaxies.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Riess and the SH0ES team, Acknowledgment: Mahdi Zamani
The NASA/ESA’s Hubble Space Telescope has tracked the fading light of a supernova in the spiral galaxy NGC 2525, located 70 million light years away. Supernovae like this one can be used as cosmic tape measures, allowing astronomers to calculate the distance to their galaxies. Hubble captured these images as part of one of its major investigations, measuring the expansion rate of the Universe, which can help answer fundamental questions about our Universe’s very nature.
The supernova, formally known as SN2018gv, was first spotted in mid-January 2018. The NASA/ESA’s Hubble Space Telescope began observing the brilliant brightness of the supernova in February 2018 as part of the research program led by lead researcher and Nobel Laureate Adam Riess of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) and Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, USA. The Hubble images center on the barred spiral galaxy NGC 2525, which is located in the constellation of Puppis in the Southern Hemisphere.
This video shows a unique time-lapse of the supernova in galaxy NGC 2525. The supernova is captured by Hubble in exquisite detail within this galaxy in the lower left portion of the frame. It appears as a very bright star located on the outer edge of one of its beautiful swirling spiral arms. This new and unique time-lapse of Hubble images shows the once bright supernova initially outshining the brightest stars in the galaxy, before fading into obscurity during the telescope’s observations. This time-lapse consists of observations taken over the course of one year, from February 2018 to February 2019. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. Kornmesser, M. Zamani, A. Riess and the SH0ES team
The supernova is captured by Hubble in exquisite detail within this galaxy in the left portion of the image. It appears as a very bright star located on the outer edge of one of its beautiful swirling spiral arms. This new and unique time-lapse of Hubble images created by the ESA/Hubble team shows the once bright supernova initially outshining the brightest stars in the galaxy, before fading into obscurity during the year of observations. This time-lapse consists of observations taken over the course of one year, from February 2018 to February 2019.
“No Earthly fireworks display can compete with this supernova, captured in its fading glory by the Hubble Space Telescope,” shared Riess of this new time-lapse of the supernova explosion in NGC 2525.
Pictured here is the captivating galaxy NGC 2525. Located nearly 70 million light-years from Earth, this galaxy is part of the constellation of Puppis in the southern hemisphere. Together with the Carina and the Vela constellations, it makes up an image of the Argo from ancient greek mythology. Another kind of monster, a supermassive black hole, lurks at the center of NGC 2525. Nearly every galaxy contains a supermassive black hole, which can range in mass from hundreds of thousands to billions of times the mass of the Sun. Credit: NASA, ESA, and A. Riess (STScI/JHU) and the SH0ES team, Acknowledgment: M. Zamani (ESA/Hubble)
Supernovae are powerful explosions that mark the end of a star’s life. The type of supernova seen in these images, known as a Type Ia supernova, originate from a white dwarf in a close binary system accreting material from its companion star. If the white dwarf reaches a critical mass (1.44 times the mass of our Sun), its core becomes hot enough to ignite carbon fusion, triggering a thermonuclear runaway process that fuses large amounts of oxygen and carbon together in a matter of seconds. The energy released tears the star apart in a violent explosion, ejecting matter at speeds up to 6% the speed of light and emitting huge amounts of radiation. Type Ia supernovae consistently reach a peak brightness of 5 billion times brighter than our Sun before fading over time.
This video zooms into the beautiful galaxy NGC 2525, in which Hubble has captured a time-lapse of a supernova in exquisite detail in the lower left portion of the frame. It appears as a very bright star located on the outer edge of one of its beautiful swirling spiral arms. This new and unique time-lapse of Hubble images shows the once bright supernova initially outshining the brightest stars in the galaxy, before fading into obscurity during the year of observations. Credit: ESA/Hubble, Digitized Sky Survey, L. Calçada, Nick Risinger (skysurvey.org). Music: Astral Electronic
Because supernovae of this type produce this fixed brightness, they are useful tools for astronomers, known as ‘standard candles’, which act as cosmic tape measures. Knowing the actual brightness of the supernova and observing its apparent brightness in the sky, astronomers can calculate the distance to these grand spectacles and therefore their galaxies. Riess and his team combined the distance measurements from the supernovae with distances calculated using variable stars known as Cepheid variables. Cepheid variables pulsate in size, causing periodic changes in brightness. As this period is directly related to the star’s brightness, astronomers can calculate the distance to them: allowing them to act as another standard candle in the cosmic distance ladder.
Pictured here is the region surrounding NGC 2525. Located nearly 70 million light-years from Earth, this galaxy is part of the constellation of Puppis in the southern hemisphere. Credit: ESA/Hubble, Digitized Sky Survey 2. Acknowledgement: Davide De Martin
Riess and his team are interested in accurately measuring the distance to these galaxies since it helps them better constrain the expansion rate of the Universe, known as the Hubble constant. This value accounts for how fast the Universe is expanding depending on its distance from us, with more distant galaxies moving faster away from us. Since it launched, NASA/ESA’s Hubble Space Telescope has helped dramatically improve the precision of the Hubble constant. Results from the same observing program led by Riess have now reduced the uncertainty of their measurement of the Hubble constant to an unprecedented 1.9%. Further measurements of NGC 2525 will contribute to their goal of reducing the uncertainty down to 1%, pinpointing how fast the Universe is expanding. A more accurate Hubble constant may uncover clues about the invisible dark matter and mysterious dark energy, responsible for accelerating the Universe’s rate of expansion. Together this information can help us understand the history and future fate of our Universe.
A supermassive black hole is also known to be lurking at the center of NGC 2525. Nearly every galaxy contains a supermassive black hole, which can range in mass from hundreds of thousands to billions of times the mass of the Sun.
For more on this story, read Hubble Watches Exploding Star Fade Into Oblivion.
source: scitechdaily.com
Now that we've seen what GSM (government-funded science) has to say about supernovae, I'm curious about Smashomash's opinion on the matter. I heard on SNN that we've never seen a star be born or die.
I'm guessing that certain misplaced ideas about stellar mechanics gave us the idea that stars are extinguished through supernovae.
All such events, since we've had telescopes (as far as I know), have taken place outside our galaxy. Is it possible that our resolution hasn't been sharp enough to pick out the still-extant star in the origin point of the supernova, perhaps some decades after the event, when the matter has dispersed?
There is much evidence now of many different types of nova, many recurring.
It's possible that all novae are recurrent. But is it always on a periodicity?
Also, are there fundamentally differing types of novae?
Freelife Tas mentions different kinds. I thought they just varied on magnitude and period between events.
It's tangentially close to 100% that all stars are recurrent on some scale. Some might be recurrent on radio bursting, some might be recurrent on x-ray flux, etc... There are also 100% guaranteed one- off transient events constantly also everywhere. With all systems of order there is some chaos and within all systems of chaos there is some order. When I start doing this full time (that's becoming increasingly soon), I'll be able to much better explain how this works. I don't want to say too much here, though because the physics behind how it works is really weird, plausible, and frankly freaky.
All stars are variable. All are quite significantly different, and while all have similarities the differences tell us some strikingly clear things. Much more later, but 'supernovae' are novae. Novae are novae, what causes them is currently under debate, but it's very clear that the stars that generate them do not 'die', collapse, or do any other fantastical things dreamt up and never observed in cosmology.
