Supernovas are the spectacular end of life for massive stars. They are explosions that produce huge amounts of energy and can be as bright as an entire galaxy made up of billions of stars!
These events are very important because the remnants of the destroyed star are launched into space. This material will form new stars, planets and moons – in fact, any of us are supernova material!
As these clouds of debris from the star's material (called “supernova remnants”) expand, they “sweep and collect” all the material they find.
This image from space reveals a 2200-year-old supernova remnant that sweeps through a large amount of material – enough to make 45 suns! The image reveals the supernova remnant in blue and cosmic dust in pink.
The impressive amount of material this remnant swept away could be the first clue that something special happened to this star before it exploded.
Another clue is the remnant's temperature, which is unusually high and continues to glow emitting a high-energy light called X-rays. After 2200 years since the supernova explosion, the “swept” gas and dust should have cooled a lot. most.
You'll have to go back to these chronicles to learn a little more about the chapters of this mystery that scientists are still unraveling!
curious fact
The last supernova observed in the Milky Way was the star Kepler in 1604 (known as SN 1604).
© 2014 – Science in the Regional Press – Ciência Viva
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