Astronomers discover origin of thermonuclear supernova
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 - 17:30
in Astronomy & Space
Astronomers recently discovered the solution to a long-standing fundamental problem of astrophysics: what produces thermonuclear, or Type Ia, supernovae, which are tremendous explosions where the light is often brighter than a whole galaxy? Astronomers have now demonstrated that these supernova are caused by a pair of white dwarf stars.