Rare Supernova Near Milky Way Center

(DESCRIPTION)

Text, News From The Universe. February 18, 2021. The Earth spins.

 

Text, Rare Supernova Near Milky Way Center. February 18, 2021. Credit, X-Ray NASA slash C X C slash Nanjing University slash P. Zhou et al Radio NSF slash NRAD.

 

Astronomers have detected evidence of a rare type of supernova near the heart of our galaxy.

 

The supernova remnant S g r A east is located close to the supermassive black hole known as S g r A asterisk.

 

(SPEECH)

[COSMIC MUSIC]

 

(DESCRIPTION)

Image, A blue and violet area of interstellar gas. A blue area on the left is circled and labeled S G R A East.

 

Text, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, paren blue, close paren, detected unusual element patterns in the slow-moving supernova remnant cloud.

 

Telltale patterns of elements including iron and nickel indicate a special type of white dwarf star supernova.

 

This is the first time evidence of this type of rare supernova has been detected so close to home.

 

Observing such an unusual cosmic object nearby will shed new light on the ways white dwarf supernovas explode.

 

This news was brought to you in part by the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, MA