Observations with NASA's Chandra X-ray
Observatory have provided the first X-ray evidence of a supernova shock wave
breaking through a cocoon of gas surrounding the star that exploded. This
discovery may help astronomers understand why some supernovas are much more
powerful than others.
On Nov. 3, 2010, a supernova was
discovered in the galaxy UGC 5189A, located about 160 million light years away.
Using data from the All Sky Automated Survey telescope in Hawaii taken earlier,
astronomers determined this supernova exploded in early October 2010 (in
Earth's time-frame).
This composite image of UGC 5189A shows
X-ray data from Chandra in purple and optical data from Hubble Space Telescope
in red, green and blue. SN 2010jl is the very bright X-ray source near the top
of the galaxy.
A team of researchers used Chandra to
observe this supernova in December 2010 and again in October 2011. The
supernova was one of the most luminous that has ever been detected in X-rays.
The results of these observations were
published in a paper that appeared in the May 1, 2012 issue of The
Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Credits: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Royal Military
College of Canada/P.Chandra et al); Optical: NASA/STScI
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