The supernova that cried wolf
Wednesday, January 9, 2013 - 16:30
in Astronomy & Space
(Phys.org)—Astronomers are announcing today that a massive star, which they have watched repeatedly mimic a supernova since 2009, has finally exploded for real. The report is being presented to the American Astronomical Society meeting in Long Beach, CA, by Dr. Jon Mauerhan of Steward Observatory at the University of Arizona, in collaboration with Dr. Nathan Smith, also of the University of Arizona, and Dr. Alex Filippenko of the University of California, Berkeley. The result is of special interest because it provides new critical information on the final death throes of massive stars in the years leading up to their explosion. The work has been accepted for publication in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.