supernova (Page 2)

Using two of its new telescopes –one on the ground and one in space– NASA have seen one of the most puzzling cosmic blasts ever observed, which seems to be the destruction of a massive star. Astronomers say they have never seen anything this bright, long-lasting and variable before. Usually, gamma-ray bursts mark the destruction of a massive star, but Flaring emissions from these events never last more than a few hours, but high-energy radiation from it continued to be seen from it for more than a week afterwards. read more

Over the years, people have speculated that the sun has a twin (NOTE: Subscribers can still listen to this show). The red giant star Betelgeuse ("Beetlejuice") is predicted to explode (become a super nova) shortly. If that happens, we will see two suns in the sky for a few weeks.
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New research suggests studying the shape of the aftermath of supernovas (exploding stars) may allow astronomers to figure out what caused them (before the same thing happens to our sun?)

A new study of images from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory on supernova remnants (the debris left over from these explosions) shows that the symmetry of the remnants, or lack thereof, reveals HOW the star exploded, even though hundreds or thousands of years have passed. Astronomer Laura Lopez says, “It’s almost like the supernova remnants have a ‘memory’ of the original explosion.”
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