Witnessing death of a red supergiant for the first time By Maya Murfin Year 9 For the first time in history, over the course of
red supergiant star where we see it produce
130 days, scientists observed the collapse of a
such a luminous emission, then collapse and
red supergiant star in real time.
combust, until now." The study revealed that the
The star was a part of the galaxy NGC 5731,
star had thrown off bright gases over the
which is around 120 million light years away
summer, and that this material was around the
from Earth. Most stars of this size end their
star
lives in a massive supernova. Stars burn huge
Jacobson-Galán said, "I am most excited by all
amounts of nuclear fuel at their cores, producing
of the new 'unknowns' that have been unlocked
mass amounts of energy, heating up the core of
by this discovery.”
when
it
exploded.
Researcher
the star. This heat creates pressure that stops the star from collapsing in on itself. Gravity is constantly battling to force the star to collapse, and when the star’s fuel runs out, it cools off and the pressure drops. The star immediately collapses and the force of this explosion causes a supernova and will create nebulas or even a black hole. Astronomers at the University of Hawaii were alerted to the star when they detected bright radiation around the star in the summer of 2020. The
radiation
was
detected
using
the
Astronomy Pan-STARRS telescope on Maui's
Sources ●
Haleakalā and the supernova was named 2020tlf.
130
days
later,
the
researchers
witnessed the star's collapse and the resulting
●
supernova. In a statement, senior study author Raffaella Margutti told CNN that "It's like watching a ticking time bomb.” She explained the significance of the study by saying, "We've never confirmed such violent activity in a dying
●
CNN, A.S. (n.d.). Giant dying star explodes as scientists watch in real time — a first for astronomy. [online] CNN. Available at: edition.cnn.com/2022/01/06/world/red-supergiant -star-supernova-scn/index.html [Accessed 10 Feb. 2022]. earthsky.org. (2022). EarthSky | Dying star’s explosive end seen by astronomers. [online] Available at: earthsky.org/space/dying-stars-explosive-end-su pernova-sn-2020tlf/ [Accessed 10 Feb. 2022]. Physics World. (2022). Astronomers watch the death of a red supergiant in real time. [online] Available at: physicsworld.com/a/astronomers-watch-the-deat h-of-a-red-supergiant-in-real-time/ [Accessed 10 Feb. 2022].
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