“New supernova appears in closest galaxy to Earth, Pinwheel Galaxy”

FLORIDA – Supernova It recently appeared in the Pinwheel Galaxy, which is closest to Earth, about 21 million light years away. The explosion of this new supernova is so powerful that the resulting burst of light and energy equals 10 billion bintang normal.

The Pinwheel Galaxy, also known as Messier 101 or M101, is a large, loosely tortuous, open-faced spiral galaxy. The Pinwheel Galaxy containing the new supernova is located near the boundary that separates Ursa Major (Big Bear) from Bootes the Herdsman.

This new supernova is a star several times larger and more massive than the sun. The enormous weight of the star, when it collapses, triggers a cataclysmic supernova explosion.

“The burst of light and the resulting energy is very likely equivalent to 10 billion normal stars,” wrote the Space page, Tuesday (23/5/2023). If such a star replaced the sun in the solar system, it might surpass the orbit of Mars.

Stars generate their energy by fusing hydrogen into helium deep within their core. When a star accumulates enough helium in its core, its energy increases significantly, and it swells to become a red giant, such as Betelgeuse in the constellation Orion.

That’s what we see now, even though the exploding star didn’t actually happen last week, because galaxy M101 is located about 21 million light years from Earth. So the light resulting from this explosion traveled through space for 21 million years before reaching Earth.

Astronomers will certainly continue to monitor the supernova for the foreseeable future, noting any fluctuations in brightness before they fade.

(wib)