The prolonged death of light from type Ia supernovae
Wednesday, February 24, 2016 - 15:30
in Astronomy & Space
Three years after its explosion, a type Ia supernova continues to shine brighter than expected, new research finds. The observations, made with the Hubble Space Telescope and published today in The Astrophysical Journal, suggest that the powerful explosions produce an abundance of a heavy form of cobalt that gives the heat from nuclear decay an extra energy boost. The work could help researchers pinpoint the parents of type Ia supernovae—a type of stellar explosion that is frequently used to measure distances to faraway galaxies—and reveal the mechanics behind these explosions.