The supernova is 20 times brighter than the Milky Way

Scientists discovered the most powerful supernova ever with 20 times the brightness of the Milky Way and 570 billion times the Sun.

According to the findings published today in the journal Science, the brightest supernova that scientists observed is 3.8 billion light-years from Earth, in a galaxy three times larger than the Milky Way.

Illustration of supernova ASASSN-15lh.(Photo: Jin Ma / Beijing Observatory).

Supernova is a rare phenomenon that occurs when a giant star explodes at the end of its life. However, the new supernova is unique because it is twice as bright as other supernovae. Finding it made Subo Dong, a scientist at Peking University, China, the lead author of the study, excited about insomnia.

At first Benjamin Shappee, co-author of the study, worked at the Carnegie Institute of Science in Pasadena, California, USA, expressed skepticism about the results and argued that discovery was unrealistic."These discoveries are the reason I became an astronomer. Naturally good at arranging and it is beyond our imagination , " Shappee shared with the AP.

The supernova named ASASSN-15lh was first discovered on June 14, 2015 . However, astronomers have yet to find an explanation for its brightness. One of many theories is that this supernova may be triggered by a black hole. Another theory is that the explosion is a result of magnetic stars, a very rare neutron star and fast rotating with a strong magnetic field.

Scientists will continue to study ASASSN-15lh until the end of the year. They will use the Hubble Space Telescope to learn more about the galaxy where the supernova ASASSN-15lh is located.