Massive ‘double detonation’ spotted by astronomers for the first time
Some stars are so primed for greatness that they blow up twice. For the first time, a team of astronomers have found direct visual evidence of a star that met its fiery end by detonating two times. The team using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) found this double explosion in the centuries-old remains of a supernova designated as SNR 0509-67.5. They found patterns that confirm its star suffered two explosive blasts. The findings are detailed in a study published July 2 in the journal Nature Astronomy and offers a new look at some of the universe’s most important explosions. What are Type Ia supernovae? The majority of the universe’s supernovae are the explosive deaths of massive stars. One important supernova variety comes from an unassuming source–white dwarfs. These celestial bodies are the small, inactive cores left over after larger stars–similar to our sun–burn out of all their nuclear...