Unprecedented discovery of supernovae

A group of astronomers at the Chalmers and Onsala Space Observatory recently discovered seven supernovae that had never before been known in a galaxy 250 million light-years away from Earth.

There have never been many supernovae discovered at the same time in the same galaxy. This finding demonstrates what astronomers have long believed that galaxies, which are known to be the most effective 'star-making factories' in the universe, are also the places where super-bodies are formed. nova.

Astronomers have used a radio telescope system in five countries, including Sweden, to be able to create extremely sharp images of the Arp 220 galaxy.

Scientists observed about 40 radio signals in the Arp 220 galaxy center, hidden behind thick layers of dust and gas and invisible to conventional telescopes.

To discover the nature of the radio source, they made measurements at different radio wavelengths and saw how they changed over the next few years.

Arp 220 galaxy with newly discovered supernovae. (Photo: Daily Mail)

'With all the data found, we can be sure that these 7 signals are supernovae - the stars that have exploded in the last 60 years , ' said Fabien Batejat, the study's lead author. .

Therefore, many supernovae have never been discovered before in the same galaxy. This figure is consistent with how stars are formed in Arp 220.

'In Arp 220, we find that there are quite a few supernovae in our galaxy. We estimate that every star will have a star exploded in Arp 220. Meanwhile, the Milky Way galaxy has only one supernova formed in every century , 'said Rodrigo Parra, astronomer at Radio. Southern European observers in Chile say.

"Our measurements show that a supernova's magnetic field is what increases radio waves rather than magnetic fields in the galaxy around it ," said Fabien Batejat.

The results will be published in the 2010 issue of the Astrophysical Journal.