Supernova

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‘Chameleon’ supernova observed

This image from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory shows the location of different elements in the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant including silicon (red), sulfur (yellow), calcium (green) and iron (purple). Each of these elements produces X-rays within narrow energy ranges, allowing maps of their location to be created. The blast wave from the explosion is seen as the blue outer ring. Astronomers study supernova remnants to better understand how stars produce and then disseminate many of the elements on Earth and in the cosmos at large.

When stars collapse: what is a supernova?

This colour image of the supernova was a one in 100 million piece of luck. Image Credit: UC Santa Cruz & Carnegie Institution for Science, Las Campanas Observatory

Amateur astronomer catches supernova’s first light

Cassiopeia A; the remnants of an exploded star. Studying objects like these can teach astronomers how stars distribute essential elements throughout the Universe. Image Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO

Exploded star study exposes essential elements

An artist’s impression of dust forming in the environment around a supernova. Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser

Supernova star comes back to life

An artist’s impression of Supernova 1987A. The red inner region contains lots of dust detected by ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submilimeter Array), and the blue outer shell shows gas ejected from the star before its explosion. Credit: A. Angelich/NRAO/AUI/NSF

Supernova explosion home to unseen ‘dust factory’

The spiral galaxy NGC 2770 and its two supernovae as observed at the Asiago Observatory. The image was obtained on 12 January 2008 and shows the then fading SN 2007uy and the newly discovered SN 2008D.

Supernova or imposter?

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Six lesser-known women of astronomy

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Supernovae bombarded Earth with cosmic rays

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The mystery of a supernova imposter

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‘Hostless’ stars explode in solitary space

The supernova SN 2014J is seen in this image near its peak brightness in the first week of February 2014. It appears as a faint star to the lower right of the central region of its host galaxy M82.

The new supernova is of a particular kind known as a Type Ia. This type of supernova results in the complete destruction of a white dwarf star-the small, dense, aged remnant of a typical star like our Sun. Two scenarios are theorized to give rise to Type Ia supernovas: In a binary star system, a white dwarf gravitationally pulls in matter from its companion star, accruing mass until the white dwarf crosses a critical threshold and blows up. Alternatively, two white dwarfs in a binary system spiral inward toward each other and eventually explosively collide.

Studying SN 2014J will help with understanding the processes behind Type Ia detonations to further refine theoretical models.

In the image, light from Spitzer's infrared channels are colored blue at 3.6 microns and green at 4.5 microns.

Spitzer reveals secrets of nearby supernova