Supernova SN 2013cu: ‘Better To Burn Out Than To Fade Away . . .’

Supernova SN 2013cu is the focus of a new study of supernovas published in the journal Nature this week. Scientists in Berkeley, California are now able to locate and observe supernovas in detail. In the case of supernova dubbed SN 2013cu the astronomers have actually been able to discover which kind of star was the catalystâ€"namely, a Wolf Rayet star.

A Wolf Rayet star is twenty times as large as the sun and will reportedly burn five times hotter. Wolf Rayet stars are believed to be the brightest stars in the universe. Their deaths are incredible. They explode in a huge “burst of fiery light” and researchers also consider them to be quite mysterious.

Supernova / Image: Wikipedia

The mystery is mainly due to the fact that their deaths are so powerful and so bright that they become difficult to observe. The light and matter propelled out into the universe often are said to obscure the actual “source of the explosion.” Thus, until recently astronomers have been uncertain on precisely how and why Wolf-Rayet stars self-destruct.

Scientists have even pondered whether these Wolf-Rayet stars are actually responsible for the incredible explosions called supernovas. Fortunately, cutting-edge observation techniques for locating and examining supernovas are aiding in learning more about them.

Peter Nugent, head of the Berkeley Lab’s Computational Cosmology Center, said: “For the first time, we can directly point to an observation and say that this type of Wolf-Rayet star leads to this kind of Type IIb supernova.”

He and his team of investigative astronomers found that the recently-located Type IIb supernova dubbed SN 2013cu was born in the Bootes constellation approximately 360 million light years distant from Earth. They discovered the supernova by utilizing the Palomar Transient Factory which is “a robotic telescope” which unceasingly searches the heavens for supernova-like explosions. By scrutinizing the supernova almost immediately after it occurred Nugent and his team of astronomers amassed incredible amounts of information.

Dr Gal-Yam, of the Weizmann Institute, in Israel and author of the supernova study, noted that a new method of analysis, flash spectroscopy, was used to establish “the makeup” of the supernova.  He stated: “Newly developed observational capabilities now enable us to study exploding stars in ways we could only dream of before. We are moving towards real-time studies of supernovae.”

Nugent concluded that the results indicated that this particular supernova was caused by “a dying Nitrogen-rich Wolf-Rayet. This is the smoking gun.”

Supernova SN 2013cu: ‘Better To Burn Out Than To Fade Away . . .’