Supernovae of the Same Brightness, Cut From Vastly Different Cosmic Cloth
23 Aug 2012, 18:00 UTC
BJ Fulton, Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network
The multi-institutional Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) team presents the first-ever direct observations of a Type 1a supernova progenitor system. Astronomers have collected evidence indicating that the progenitor system of a Type 1a supernova, called PTF 11kx, contains a red giant star. They also show that the system previously underwent at least one much smaller nova eruption before it ended its life in a destructive supernova.
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