In a distant galaxy, a star quietly prepared a grand farewell party – a supernova explosion. University of British Columbia astronomers seized the rare opportunity to witness what was born from this cosmic firework, possibly a neutron star or a black hole. The discovery finally confirms that spectacular explosions of heavyweight stars create the densest objects in the universe.
Often, knowledge about these objects comes from hindsight, like looking for clues at a crime scene. But this time, we were lucky enough to observe the process in real time. This reminds us that scientists are like a group of interstellar Sherlock Holmes, holding up a magnifying glass to every anomaly in the universe.
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Having said that, this supernova named “SN 2022jli” exploded last year in the NGC 157 galaxy 75 million light-years away from us. The brightness of this supernova fluctuates, shining once every 12.4 days, allowing scientists to watch its light rising and fading, which is more exciting than watching a suspenseful movie.
Artist’s imaginative depiction of the processes leading to the SN 2022jli supernova and its bizarre consequences. (Photo/ESO)
Scientists speculate that this star may have a companion star, like an interstellar version of “Deadpool and his friends.” After SN 2022jli ejected the outer material, the companion star was inflated with hydrogen gas, like a cosmic balloon. As the orbits of the two objects converged, the dense core remnant acted like a hungry cosmic monster, gobbling up hydrogen in the companion star’s atmosphere.
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This process is like watching a cosmic version of “The Vampire Diaries,” except this time the protagonist is a possible neutron star or black hole instead of a handsome vampire.
This research is like solving a big mystery of the universe. From now on, our understanding of black holes and neutron stars will advance to the next level. As Dr. Chen said: “Our research is like piecing together a cosmic puzzle. The arrangement of all evidence will eventually point to the truth.”
The research, published in the journal Nature, opens a new chapter in our understanding of the mysteries of the universe.
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First picture source: Anand Varma cc By4.0
Image Source:Naturecc By4.0
Reference papers:
1.A 12.4-day periodicity in a close binary system after a supernova.Nature
Further reading:
