Representational image of a supernova
Astronomers have found a mysterious supernova in the neigbhouring galaxy in the sky over Hawaii last week. The astronomers around the world are trying to understand the cause of the amazingly brilliant flash. Many astronomers have claimed that they have not seen something like this in their career before. A supernova is a star that suddenly increases greatly in brightness because of a catastrophic explosion that ejects most of its mass.
Here’s all you want to know about the latest discovery:
1. It was first spotted on June 16 on Astronomer’s Telegram, which is an online service for astronomers to rapidly report interesting new observations.
2. It is dubbed as AT2018cow, or "the cow" for short.
3. It was ten times brighter than a normal supernova.
4. Most of such events takes several weeks to reach this stage but it took just three days.
5. AT2018cow was extraordinarily bright in all parts of the electromagnetic spectrum - from X-rays to radio waves but most supernovas carry spectral signatures called absorption lines, caused by certain elements within them that absorb wavelengths of light, AT2018cow is "surprisingly smooth."
6. AT2018cow may be a Type 1c supernova, caused by the core collapse of a massive star that has already lost its outer veil of hydrogen and helium.
7. AT2018cow is already on a decline in its brightness.
