The supernova without secrets – Kepler has made a historical observation – Interia

With the help of Kepler Space Telescope, researchers were able to record the moment of the explosion – and exactly the accompanying shock wave – two supernovae. Allowed a continuous three-year observations of more than 500 very distant galaxies – we read in the official NASA.

The Hubble Space Telescope has discovered something extraordinary again. This device this time identified 9 of huge stars with masses in excess of 100 solar masses. It is the largest such cluster in the known universe. read more
                     

Researchers have the opportunity to observe lots of explosions and their remnants, but had never managed to register this remarkable cosmic spectacle from the start. It was necessary here not only happiness, but above all, an incredible amount of work. Kepler Space Telescope every 30 minutes analyzing the light coming from over 500 galaxies, or – if you will – of 50 billion stars for three years. It was worth it.

Kepler was able to observe the moment of the explosion until two massive stars, called red supergiant stars. KSN 2011a was more than 300 times larger than the Sun and the Earth, it divided the distance of 700 million light years. KSN 2011d was up to 500 times higher and away 1.2 billion light years!

– To better imagine their size, should refer to a specific example – the Earth’s orbit around the sun would fit easily in each of the these giants – said prof. Peter Garnavich from the University of Notre Dame, the main author of the study.

Capturing that moment of explosion is extremely difficult because scientists do not know when a star is going to explode. They therefore require continuous observation and a bit of luck. And the game is worth the candle, because only this particular moment – and exactly 20 minutes – brings valuable for scientists the data.

In this case, for the supernovae of type II, which are formed when the star runs out of fuel, and nuclear fusion no longer occur. Then the object begins to collapse under its own weight, the outer layers at high speed sink to the elastic nucleus and are rapidly reflected. It is this moment is called the outbreak.

Understanding the physics of these events will better understand how heavier and necessary for the emergence of life elements are scattered in the Universe.

– All heavier elements present in the universe come from supernovae – even those present in our bodies. Life exists thanks to the explosion of supernovae – said Steve Howell, a researcher at NASA’s Kepler project and K2.