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Another star explodes this week, making history brighter than ever before.
By Tamara Sanon — Written on Apr 16, 2020
Don’t mistake a supernova for just any old star, and when SN2016aps, the greatest scientific discovery in all of history exploded, it packed more power than 50-100 masses of Earth's Sun.
What is supernova SN2016aps, according to astronomy news?
SN2016aps star explosion is speculated to have been the explosion of an entire solar system.
A supernova is an extremely bright and powerful “explosion of stars”.
What is a supernova?
A supernova is essentially the death of a star. Not all stars die the same way.
There are two known types of supernovas, last hurrah, and the white dwarf.
To determine which kind of supernova is, you need to know what kind of star it is based on its mass.
Being able to witness a supernova is a rare occurrence for astronomers. That’s because supernovas are a natural phenomenon.
Supernovas are difficult to detect in our Milky Way because “dust blocks our view.”
When was SN2016aps first discovered by scientists?
Astronomers discovered the brightest supernova known to man, SN2016aps in 2016.
At that time it was not confirmed to be the brightest supernova just yet. Astronomers were still observing it.
After analyzing SN2016aps for over three years, it is the brightest supernova known to man, and SN2016 is the greatest star explosion recorded in history.
SN2016aps is said to have “10 times more energy than the sun will emit in its entire lifetime”.
The brightness of this supernova is its main distinguishing feature in comparison to other supernovas. It's what makes SN2016aps so powerful.
Normally supernovas have an explosion that releases just as much light as the sun during "its 10 billion year lifespan", but not SN2016aps. It surpasses that amount of light.
With the energy of more than 100B Earth Sun's, SN2016 thankfully disintegrated lightyears away from our solar system.
What’s even more fascinating is how long SN2016aps was able to last. Normally supernovas do not last for such a duration.
Astronomers can typically observe supernovas for a “few months.”
SN2016aps is quite the outlier. It’s a deviation from the normal expectation of a supernova and is an area of interest for astronomers and scientists alike.
Why did the supernova SN2016aps star explode?
SN2016aps had likely originated from a massive star in the universe, but this star did not explode on its own.
A massive shell of gas was shed prior to the explosion and the collision of explosion debris is what made SN2016aps incredibly bright.
Tamara Sanon is a writer with a passion for covering topics about health and wellness, lifestyle, astrology, and relationships.