Supernova Releases Spherical Shell Of Hot Material

First Posted: Dec 07, 2015 03:56 PM EST
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In May 2011, researchers discovered a supernova in the spiral Whirlpool Galaxy (Messier 51), located 257 million light-years away. The researchers identified the supernova as SN2011dh, a massive supergiant star that is thirteen times the size of the sun, which had high-velocity shocks. 

Ever since, researchers have carried out numerous studies of this supernova. The researchers found that the explosion resulted in a shock wave with bright optical emission, which came primarily from the inner dense, slow-moving ejecta. The size and expansion velocity of the shock were the typical characteristics of various types of supernova, according to a news release.

Astronomers have studied these shocks, as supernovae are quite rare. There have been five supernovae that have gone off in galaxies close to the earth, and SN2011dh has been named the sixth. Since these supernovae are rare and distant, it is essential for researchers to study their shock properties in detail.

Since the explosion, CfA astronomers Atish Kamble and Alicia Soderberg and their team have kept a steady eye on SN2011dh through the use of numerous radio telescope facilities. After carrying out observations 453 days after the shock, the researchers found that it had released a spherical shell of hot material almost 120 times larger in radius than the distance between Pluto and the sun.

The researchers combined other observations into their study, where they found that the expansion has not slowed down. Even after 453 days, the researchers estimated its velocity at a rate of 19,000 kilometers per second (over forty-two million miles per hour). The measurements of supernovae enables researchers to examine factors behind supernova shock theories. 

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