Dense Neutron Stars Power Super-Luminous Supernovae
Thursday, October 17, 2013 - 08:20
in Astronomy & Space
You wouldn't think the brightest exploding stars ever discovered in the universe could need some light shed on them, but they got it anyway. A new paper proposes that the most luminous supernovae – exploding stars – are powered by small and incredibly dense neutron stars, with gigantic magnetic fields that spin hundreds of times a second. Scientists observed two super-luminous supernovae for more than a year. Contrary to existing theories, which suggested that the brightest supernovae are caused by super-massive stars exploding, the findings suggest that their origins may be better explained by a type of explosion within the star's core which creates a smaller but extremely dense and rapidly spinning magnetic star. read more