Astronomers have discovered the youngest known supernova in the Milky Way galaxy still just a baby at 140 years old.
Scientists put the startling event at some time around 1868.
A supernova is the catastrophic explosion of a star that releases an extraordinary amount of energy,enough to outshine an entire galaxy.
The new baby supernova is located near the centre of the galaxy and obscured by dense gas and dust, making it virtually impossible to see in optical light.
'Two to three supernovae are thought to occur every century in the Milky Way'.
The supernova was much younger than initial estimates ranging from 400 to 1,000 years old. The very Large Army made new observations in March and helped pinpoint the age at 140 years, possibly less if the expansion has been slowing.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment