What Is A Supernova? New Study Reveals Star Captured Hours After Explosion

Supernovas are a tricky thing to catch right away, and they can’t even be seen in the Milky Way from Earth.

But what is a supernova? Put simply, it’s the explosion of a star, which scientists study by looking at the light, x-rays or gamma rays, that come as byproducts of the explosion, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Supernova travel quickly and are surrounded by a mass of other stars but when captured they can tell scientists a lot about the expansion of the universe, the spreading of elements and other debris, and supernova in general.

But in October 2013, scientists were able to capture the best images of a supernova to date, according to a new study released Monday in Nature Physics. Astronomers captured supernova SN 2013fs in galaxy NGC 7610 just mere hours after its destruction, the shortest amount of time to ever elapse before observation. Roughly three hours after the SN 2013fs exploded, astronomers at the Palomar Observatory in California had their telescopes trained on the area where the explosion had taken place and was spreading from, according to Motherboard.

Capturing the evidence so soon afterwards is important because evidence can be gone within days of the collapse, the author of the study, Ofer Yaron, told Motherboard. Additionally, the life of stars before they become supernovas is not well understood by scientists because the events are so difficult to track and probe, according to the study. Even though the event occurred millions of years ago, and the light only recently made its way to astronomers on Earth, the information scientists have gathered has led to more information and understanding than ever before.