The dazzling supernova destroys a massive cloud of gas

Researchers think the Ia supernova is 100 times brighter because it hits a cloud of matter, creating an explosion of light.

The mystery of a strange exploding star in 2006 has finally been solved. At the time it was discovered, SN supernova SN 2006gy was the brightest planet that humans could see. Since then researchers have been trying to understand this supernova.

From the beginning, SN 2006gy is very strange because there is strong light emitting a lot of energy, 100 times more than a normal supernova, according to Jerkstrand at the Max Planck Astrophysical Institute (Germany). . Later, when a team of researchers examined the supernova's light, they found that antimatter also had an effect. The light spectrum from the explosion has never been seen before in any supernova, showing the presence of some unknown substances.

By looking at extensive lists of how different atoms emit light, Jerkstrand and colleagues discovered that the explosion must contain a lot of iron at least a third the mass of the Face. God. The most common types of supernovae do not produce so much iron, so the researchers performed a series of simulations that tried to combine the appearance of SN 2006gy with rare explosions.

SN 2006gy supernova explodes and emits intense light.(Image: NASA /CXC/M.Weiss).

The type of supernova that produces enough iron is called type Ia , but this type is usually 100 times dimmer than SN 2006gy. The way the researchers made the Type Ia supernova 100 times brighter is to smash it into the cloud of matter at the start of the explosion, turning the explosion's energy into light.

The scenario that Jerkstrand and his team discovered was that SN 2006gy started with a pair of stars orbiting each other in a shared gas cloud. As they twist toward each other, the gas is blown out, creating a cloud around the stars. When they collide will explode and the explosion through that cloud creates a light explosion.

"Understanding these strange variants will help us find other types of supernovae," Jerkstrand said. Type Ia supernovae are also used to measure the expansion of the universe, understanding how the Ia supernova explodes is also really important for cosmological applications, he said.

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