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 130 days, scientists observed the collapse of a red supergiant star in real time. The star was a part of the galaxy NGC 5731, which is around 120 million light years away from Earth. Most stars of this size end their lives in a massive supernova. Stars burn huge amounts of nuclear fuel at their cores, producing mass amounts of energy, heating up the core of 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 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 red supergiant star where we see it produce such a luminous emission, then collapse and combust, until now. " The study revealed that the star had thrown off bright gases over the summer, and that this material was around the star when it exploded. Researcher Jacobson-Galán said, "I am most excited by all of the new ' unknowns' that have been unlocked by this discovery. ”

Sources

● 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].