Supernova shows "the universe is crazier than science fiction"
Thanks to a worldwide network of 18 robotic telescopes, researchers led by the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) were able to catch a brief blue glow in the sky which, they say, was the result of a different kind of supernova explosion.
The find reveals surprising information about the companion star next to the white dwarf that sparked the spectacle.
The giant cosmic explosions known as supernovae take place in one of two ways in our universe. They can happen at the end of a star's life cycle, when it runs out of fuel in its core and it begins collapsing in on itself. When enough material gathers at the center of the star, the core collapses and explodes.
25th September 2017