A great light in the sky

Scientists observe the closest Type Ia supernova on record

The most intense stellar explosion in the last 20 years has been visible in the sky for the past few days, and astrophysicists from all over the world are now trying to study it. The explosion - known as a "supernova", happened in the galaxy M82, which is about 12 million light years away from us.

It was discovered in a random observation by students from University College London, and according to the experts, it is the explosion of this type - Ia - closest to us that has ever been recorded. Supernova researcher Dr. Dobi Poznansky from Tel Aviv University told Kol Israel that explosions of this type may allow us to better understand the expansion of the universe because they are very uniform and serve as a tool for comparing distances on a cosmic scale.

A supernova occurs when a large sun ends its life and collapses, and a type Ia explosion occurs in the collapse of a "white dwarf" star.

For news on the subject from Universe Today