The red giant from the galaxy NGC 5731 was discovered thanks to its luminosity.
US researchers have one for the first time Red supergiant observed before, during and following a supernova – one of the most fascinating processes in the universe. When a massive star approaches its death, it swells into a red giant and finally explodes in a supernova.
Although individual phases of the process might previously be observed, the scientists were now able to witness the entire process in real time. According to one of the study authors Wynn Jacobson-Galán of the University of California in Berkeley a breakthrough in our understanding of what massive stars do moments before they die.
“We saw a red supergiant explode for the first time,” says the researcher.
Star observed months before supernova
That was used Pan-STARRS-Teleksop on Maui, Hawaii. The giant from the galaxy was discovered NGC 5731 thanks to its luminosity in summer 2020. NGC 5731 is located regarding 120 million light years away from the earth.
In the fall you might see the supernova SN 2020tlf of the star using the Low Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (LRIS) observe. She was regarding 10 times more massive than the sun.
Some red giants change internal structure
The data show a dense, circumstellar material that the star was releasing at the time of the explosion. This might be the gas that the star had ejected in the summer and attracted the researchers’ attention.
While previous Observations suggesting that red giants are relatively calm in front of a supernova, the new data now suggests that some of them change their internal structure significantly before they explode and emit a large amount of gas.
Now the researchers want to look for similar celestial bodies that are approaching a supernova. The study was in the journal The Astrophysical Journal released.