Just recently, Caltech astronomers spotted a bizarre death of a massive star that exploded in a supernova that quickly lowered in intensity and faded away. According to the scientists, this would represent a new type of supernova. Furthermore, the recent observation hints to a companion star that was siphoning the exploded celestial body’s mass making the latter bursting in brief supernova.
According to the scientists, the explosion attracted a nearly-dead neutron star that orbited the dense and compact companion. The Caltech astronomers believe that since they spotted, out of the blue, the implementation of a minimal neutron star binary system.
When a star of at least eight times more massive than our Sun depletes its “fuel,” the star’s core collapses into itself and then rebounds outwards in an intense explosion the scientists call “a supernova.” After this massive burst, the celestial body’s outer layers blast away, while all that remains is a neutron star which is a dense town-sized star core that contains several solar masses.
New Type Of Supernova Explosion Observed By Caltech Astronomers
“We saw this massive star’s core collapse, but we saw remarkably little mass ejected. We call this an ultra-stripped envelope supernova, and it has long been predicted that they exist. This is the first time we have convincingly seen core collapse of a massive star that is so devoid of matter,” explained Mansi Kasliwal, one of the Caltech astronomers.
The star must have had a companion, according to scientists, as its mass has been disappearing soon after the supernova burst. As the Caltech astronomers reported, the celestial body could’ve been accompanied by a white swarf, a neutron star, or a black hole that was absorbing the star’s mass during the explosion.
“You need fast transient surveys and a well-coordinated network of astronomers worldwide to capture the early phase of a supernova. Without data in its infancy, we could not have concluded that the explosion must have originated in the collapsing core of a massive star with an envelope about 500 times the radius of the sun,” concluded one of the Caltech astronomers.
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