Science a GoGo's Home Page
Posted By: DA Morgan Supernovae explode in rare double-whammy - 11/21/06 05:32 PM
A portrait of two supernovae that exploded just five months apart in the same galaxy has been made by NASA's Swift telescope. The galaxy, called NGC 1316, has now produced four supernovae in 26 years, the highest rate ever measured.

All four supernovae were of type Ia, which are thought to occur when a stellar ember called a white dwarf collects too much matter from a companion star, igniting a runaway nuclear reaction that tears the white dwarf apart.

The supernovae were both initially detected from the ground by an amateur astronomer in South Africa named Berto Monard. Swift was then called upon to make observations at ultraviolet and X-ray wavelengths.

The first event was detected on 19 June 2006 and appears as a yellowish spot on the right. The second event was detected on 5 November, and appears as another spot at mid-left.

Source and the rest of the story:
http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn10618-supernovae-explode-in-rare-doublewhammy.html
Hi DA,

Is it just me or does the photo in this article look like Elmo from Sesame Street?

Silliness aside, this is a rare phenomena and anyone interested in nucleosynthesis will find it interesting.

Dr. R.
© Science a GoGo's Discussion Forums