Scientific Method / Science & Exploration

After bright explosion, astronomers rush to study new supernova

Was spotted at 3:47am EST this morning.

The bright circle at image center is a probable white dwarf supernova in M82 ("Cigar Galaxy"); the color-reversed inset shows the location more clearly.

Overnight, astronomers spotted what may be a very close white dwarf supernova—close in cosmic terms at least. This bright explosion, seen in the M82 "Cigar" galaxy, is roughly 12 million light-years away—close enough to be seen with small telescopes and observed in detail by larger instruments. Even amateur astronomers and astrophotographers can see an explosion this bright and close.

By 08:47 UT (3:47am US EST) on January 22, 2014, astronomers working with the ARC 3.5-meter telescope at the Apache Point Observatory reported they had measured the spectrum of the supernova. Based on that data, they identified it as a probable type Ia supernova, meaning it has little hydrogen, but significant amounts of silicon and other heavier elements.

Type Ia supernovae are triggered either by the explosion of white dwarfs that accrete too much matter and exceed their maximum stable mass, or by the collision of two white dwarfs. (That's as opposed to core-collapse supernovae, which are the explosions of stars much more massive than the Sun.) Because they all explode in very similar ways, Type Ia supernovas are "standard candles": objects that can be used to measure distances to very distant galaxies. The use of them to track the expansion of the Universe was recognized by the 2011 Nobel Prize.

While the explosion undoubtedly produced neutrinos, the distance is great enough that any arriving at Earth-based neutrino detectors will likely be swamped by other sources. However, the relative closeness of M82 means that a variety of telescopes, both ground- and space-based, will be able to monitor its evolution over the next few days as the explosion fades. The data will help astronomers distinguish whether it truly is a type Ia (the galaxy it's in makes a core-collapse supernova more probable, but doesn't rule out white dwarfs), and possibly even tell whether one or two white dwarfs were involved.

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