The explosion was so intense that it surprised the astronomers

It is the brightest and most energetic starburst known, and may be the first evidence of a new type of supernova that can " run " with antimatter engines.

The explosion was discovered by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Lick ground telescope in September 2006. It is called SN 2006gy, located in a galaxy 240 million light years from Earth called NGC 1260, and releases 100 times more energy than typical supernovae.

NGC 1260 flared slowly for 70 days, and at its most brilliant time, it released light equivalent to 50 billion suns, and 10 times brighter than the host galaxy, then gradually faded. Most supernovae reach their peaks in just a few days or weeks.

"Of all the observed stellar explosions, this could be considered a king," said Alex Filippenko, of the University of Berkeley, California, the chief observer of Lick station on the ground. because of its brightness and because of the length of the stellar explosion ".

The discovery was announced today at a NASA conference.

The top is a simulation of a stellar explosion, looking closer.The lower left corner is an image seen by Lick observatory.On the right is the photo provided by Chandra Observatory.(Photo: LiveScience)

T. An