A stunning flash of ultraviolet light from an exploding white dwarf has been detected by astronomers for only the second time, and could give researchers important clues about what spurs the demise of these ancient, spent stars.
Researchers became aware of this unusual supernova – called SN2019yvq – last December, only a day after the explosion took place. Within hours, scientists classified the event as a Type Ia supernova – not an unusual stellar event, ordinarily at least, except this time it was accompanied by the extremely rare flash of ultraviolet light.
“These are some of the most common explosions in the Universe,” says astrophysicist Adam Miller from Northwestern University.
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