Bang! The collapse of a massive star created a previously unseen type of supernova.NASA
Posted on 12/03/2009 8:42:57 PM PST by neverdem
Massive supernova produced rainbow of elements for months.
Bang! The collapse of a massive star created a previously unseen type of supernova.NASA
Astronomers have watched the violent death of what was probably the most massive star ever detected. The supernova explosion, which lasted for months, is thought to have generated more than 50 Suns' worth (1032 kilograms) of different elements, which may one day go on to make new solar systems.
The explosion — dubbed SN2007bi — was spotted as part of a digital survey to hunt for supernovae at the Palomar Observatory near San Diego, California.
One supernova in particular was very unusual, recalls Avishay Gal-Yam, an astronomer at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, a member of the survey team.
“This is definitely something we haven't seen before.” Avishay Gal-Yam Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel
The blast was first seen on 6 April 2007, but unlike most supernovae, which fade over a matter of weeks, this one burned steadily for months. "It was very, very slow," says Gal-Yam. "I came back after a week, after two weeks, after a month and five months and it was still about the same brightness."
Follow-up observations with some of the world's most powerful telescopes — including the W. M. Keck Observatory atop Mauna Kea, Hawaii, and the Paranal Observatory in Chile — revealed a supernova unlike any other. This week in Nature, Gal-Yam and his colleagues report that the explosion was probably that of a supermassive star, at least two hundred times the mass of the Sun1. The type of supernova that it produced — a 'pair-instability' supernovae — had been predicted by theory, they say, but never observed...
(Excerpt) Read more at nature.com ...
The entire world witnessed Tiger Woods, not just astronomers.
I thought that too, but then I realized that Tiger Woods just isn’t that bright.
It's either Bush's fault or global warming. Maybe both.
Leia: [shocked] No! Alderaan is peaceful, we have no weapons. You can't possibly—
Tarkin: You would prefer another target? A military target?! Then name the system! [stepping closer to Leia and pinning her against Darth Vader] I grow tired of asking this, so it will be the last time. Where is the Rebel base?
Leia: [looks at Alderaan for a moment, then, resigned] Dantooine. They're all on Dantooine.
Tarkin: There you see, Lord Vader? She can be reasonable. Proceed with the operation. You may fire when ready.
Leia: [furious] What?!
Tarkin: You're far too trusting. Dantooine is too remote to make an effective demonstration, but don't worry. We will deal with your rebel friends soon enough.
[The Death Star destroys Alderaan]
Ping.
No disrespect to you, but why are you so fascinated by this? I went to this post to escape Tiger Woods. He is just another moron jock that was caught with his pants around his ankles. Nothing more to see here.
The entire forum appears to be off the tracks.
I wouldn't say that. But I don't give a crap about Tiger Woods. There are bigger fish to fry.
Are we finally ready to stop driving our SUV’s? Come’on stars are exploding already!
Correction, WERE exploding. The eerie thing about seeing these supernova in a telescope is that the light from the explosion is just now arriving to Earth from the location in the universe. The explosion was many millions of years ago, and the speculated “new solar systems” have already developed into whatever and/or may have already died out. Every time we look at the stars we are looking at very old light- always amazing and humbling.
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he had the world by the well you know what..and p@#$d it away....he is dumber than a boxful of rocks!!!!
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