Infant supernova reveals details of its birth

A supernova, called Cassiopeia A.Infant Supernova Reveals Details of its Birth

About 300 years ago, a nearby star in our galaxy became a supernova and exploded in a bright flash of light. The light from that explosion is still traveling through space, and it’s helping researchers answer many questions about the details of the actual supernova.

This supernova, called Cassiopeia A, is by far the youngest known supernova in our galaxy. 300 years may seem like a long time here on Earth, but in space it’s the blink of an eye. So researchers were particularly happy to spot a “light echo” of this very young stellar explosion traveling through space and reflecting off cosmic dust.

By observing this “echo” of light from Cassiopeia A, Oliver Krause and colleagues were able to capture the spectrum of radiation that the star’s explosion created. They were then able to analyze the spectrum of light to find out what type of supernova Cassiopeia A was and some other interesting details about its birth and existence as well.

Krause’s findings show that Cassiopeia A was a type IIb supernova — or a massive helium star that exploded when its core collapsed — and that it was probably born from the collapse of a much older red supergiant star.

This is an interesting example of how scientists are able to reconstruct past events in our galaxy (and others) by examining things that are happening right now. It seems that, in space, the present might hold the key to unlocking the past.

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