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The recent launch of the James Webb Space Telescope grants us a window into the universe as it was 13.5 billion years ago. This extraordinary marvel is more than just a technological feat; it allows us to probe the depths of space and understand how planets like Mars evolved over time.
Breaking News: Real-Time Stellar Explosion Witnessed
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In a remarkable discovery, scientists have observed a stellar explosion as it happened. This celestial event, labeled SN 2020 TLF, was located around 120 million light-years away. It’s a red supergiant star, and for over 100 days before its eventual collapse, researchers tracked its bright light emissions, resulting from gas explosions on its surface.
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These observations were unprecedented. Past studies of red supergiants, although extensive, hadn’t captured this phenomenon in real time. Wynne Jacobson-Galán, a researcher at the University of California, even touted it as a groundbreaking understanding of massive stars’ final stages.
Red Supergiants: The Universe’s Voluminous Stars
These giants, often hundreds to thousands of times the radius of our sun, undergo complex processes. They create energy through nuclear fusion, consuming even heavier elements than hydrogen and helium. Their cores heat up progressively, leading to increased pressure. Upon fusing iron and nickel, they’re on the brink of running out of energy, leading to a massive type 2 supernova.
Unique Observations with the Help of Telescopes
The foundation for observing SN 2020 TLF was set in 2020 when it displayed bright red flashes, indicating gas explosions. Using telescopes like Pan-STARRS1 and the WM Keck Observatory in Hawaii, scientists kept a close eye for 130 days until the supernova occurred. They also noted a dense gas cloud surrounding the star during its explosion, hinting at prior violent explosions before its demise.
The Sun’s Fate: An Enthralling Glimpse into the Future
While the focus is currently on the red supergiant, it’s hard not to wonder about our sun’s fate. Experts predict its demise in trillions of years, with the main sequence ending in about 5 billion years. It will become a red giant, and as it ages, gravitational forces will dominate, leading to the fusion of helium into carbon. Eventually, it’ll expand, consuming nearby planets like Mercury and Venus, and finally collapsing, leaving behind a white dwarf and a planetary nebula.
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