Huge star dies and astronomers watch the whole process
Astronomers have successfully observed the entire process of a massive star's death, including a rare 'shock breakout' detected by China's Einstein Probe. This observation provides new data on how supernovas occur and how shock waves interact with stellar material.
Why it matters
Capturing this rare event allows scientists to refine models of stellar evolution and the life cycles of massive stars.
Astronomers have taken the rare opportunity to observe the explosive death of an enormous star from start to finish, gaining a new understanding of how this sort of violent event can transpire in more ways than previously known.
The observations began in March when China’s Einstein Probe space telescope detected a momentary flare of X-rays caused when a powerful shock wave triggered by the explosion in the collapsing stellar core tore through the doomed star’s surface.
This is called a shock breakout. It is thought to occur in every supernova but is notoriously hard to spot because of how brief it is. In fact, this one was the first since 2008 to be observed.
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