A team of astronomers led by Northwestern University and the University of California, Berkeley recently said they observed in real time for the first time the dramatic and violent performance of a red supergiant that self-destructed, died and collapsed into a Type II supernova. A Type II supernova is the result of the rapid collapse and explosion of a massive star.
The research team observed in real time that the red supergiant emitted bright radiation in its final days.
Prior to this historic event, it was thought that the red supergiant did not show evidence that they were about to explode, however, it was found that the throbbing star emitted bright radiation in its final days.
The team's press release said it suggests that at least some of these stars must undergo major changes in their internal structure, which then causes a violent eruption of gas in the instant before they collapse.
The research team observed in real time the dramatic and violent performances of the Type II supernova.
It is reported that every second in the universe, a star will explode somewhere. But the death of the star, called throes, was observed by astronomers for the first time in science.
The study's lead author, Wynn Jacobson-Galán, said in a statement: "This is a breakthrough in our understanding of the moment before the mass star dies. Prenovae activity directly detected in red superstars has never been observed before in an ordinary type II supernova. For the first time, we saw the explosion of a red supergiant. “
"What I'm most excited about is all the new 'unknowns' that this discovery has unlocked." He said.
Collapse and explosion of red supergiants.
Stars classified as "red supergiant" have more than 10 times the mass of Earth's Sun, have a very cool surface below 6920 degrees Fahrenheit, and a huge radius. Most red giants have a radius of 200 to 800 times that of the Sun.
In the summer of 2020, astronomers at the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Hawaii detected this bright radiation.
A few months later, in the fall of 2020, a supernova lit up the sky, allowing the team to take advantage of W.M. Keck Observatory's low-resolution imaging spectrometer captured the violence in real time.
Supernova 2020tlf (SN 2020tlf) animated screenshot.
They were able to capture this powerful and energetic explosion, which the researchers named supernova 2020tlf (SN 2020tlf).
Lafella Maguti, a senior author of the study and an associate professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of California, Berkeley, said in a statement: "It's like looking at a time bomb. We've never confirmed that a dying red supergiant has such intense activity that we see it produce such luminous bodies and then collapse and burn until now. ”
Text/Nandu reporter Chen Lin