Escuche esta historia
--:--
3:03
Astronomers see the explosion of a red giant star for the first time
The star was located 120 million light years from Earth and for 130 days astrological experts witnessed its death and explosion.
Live and direct, this team of researchers witnessed for the first time in history the end of the well-known “Red Supergiant”.
On this occasion, observers were able to appreciate how fast its explosion was, before exploding in a Type II supernova.
This achievement was thanks to two telescopes located in Hawaii, Pan-STARRS, the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Hawaii, and the WM KECK Observatory.
The specialists who carried out the study called Young Supernova Experiment (YSE), were able to observe the red supergiant star for 130 days, before it came to an end, in a deadly detonation.
One of the main statements was made by Wynn Jacobson Galán, researcher, graduate of the National Science Foundation of the University of California, and main author of the study, who alleged how the observation process was.
"This helped us understand what happens to massive stars, moments before they die. Therefore, it represents a breakthrough for us." “The live arrest of the pre-supernova event in a red supergiant star has never been observed earlier than an ordinary type II supernova. We saw a red supergiant star explode for the first time”!
This discovery was published in the magazine "The Astrophysical Journal", and it began in the summer of 2020, when "Pan-STARSS" detected a large presence of light radiating from the red supergiant.
A few months passed and in the autumn of that same year, they saw a supernova live that lit up the entire sky. This moment was captured immediately by the Keck Observatory, through a low resolution imaging spectrometer (LRIS).
Stronger than the sun
The data revealed a dense circumstellar material existed, which surrounded the star when the explosion took place.
This gas is possibly the same as the Pan-STARRS observed when it was aggressively expelled in the red supergiant months ago.
For her part, Raffaela Margutti, also author of the study and professor of astronomy, associated with the University of California, assures that Keck was indispensable at the time of offering direct evidence of a massive star, in transition towards a supernova explosion.
"We have never confirmed such violent activity in a dying red supergiant, that it was seen producing such a luminous emission, then collapsing and burning," he said.
This star, located approximately 120 million light years from Earth, was 10 times stronger than the sun.
The universe and the earth have their mysteries. Events of this type happen more regularly than many people think or have seen.
Thanks to researchers, scientists and specialists in areas, the world can know and be surprised by so many wonders that go beyond the limits of the sky.
