LCO and NASA's Kepler work together to determine origins of supernova
Monday, December 3, 2018 - 09:00
in Astronomy & Space
Astronomers at Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) are part of an international team of scientists who used NASA's Kepler satellite to catch a rare glimpse of a Type Ia supernova minutes after explosion. The supernova, named SN 2018oh, was brighter than expected over the first few days. The increased brightness is an indication that it slammed into a nearby companion star. This adds to the growing body of evidence that some, but not all, of these thermonuclear supernovae have a large companion star that triggers the explosion.