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"exec" writes:

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

An international team of researchers has found evidence a supernova explosion that was first triggered by a helium detonation, reports a new study in Nature this week.

A Type Ia supernova is a type of white dwarf star explosion that occurs in a binary star system where two stars are circling one another. Because these supernovae shine 5 billion times brighter than the Sun they are used in astronomy as a reference point when calculating distances of objects in space. However, no one has been able to find solid evidence of what triggers these explosions. Moreover, these explosions only occur once every 100 years in any given galaxy, making them difficult to spot.

"Studying Type Ia supernovae is important because they are a valuable tool researchers use to measure the expansion of the universe. A more precise understanding of their history and behavior will help all researchers obtain more accurate results," said author and University of Tokyo School of science Professor Mamoru Doi.

-- submitted from IRC

Ji-an Jiang, et. al. A hybrid type Ia supernova with an early flash triggered by helium-shell detonation. Nature, 2017; 550 (7674): 80 DOI: 10.1038/nature23908

Original Submission