The explosion of a supernova (Supernova) is the most violent phenomenon in the Universe and certainly one of the most impressive. Scientists in recent decades with the help of new and more advanced telescopes and other technical instruments have been studying Supernova in depth. Now with the help of the NuSTAR space telescope scientists have data which illuminate the processes inside a supernova star in the last stages of its existence, just minutes before it is destroyed.
Mapping
NuStAR mapped the radioactive materials of a supernova remnant. More specifically, the telescope turned its gaze to the supernova Cassiopeia A, which is 11 thousand light-years away from us. Experts estimate that the eruption took place about 340 years ago. The telescope was able to map the radioactive materials of the Supernova and in particular the titanium-44 which has an unstable core produced in the heart of the supernova. The data of this mapping may allow experts to see the evolution of the phenomenon in its final stages. That is, to see what happened just before the explosion.
"With the Nustar we now have a new coroner tool to investigate the explosion" says Brayan Graffenstet of the California Institute of Technology who is the lead researcher studying the new evidence. The first millionpricetheir results are published in the journal "Nature".
Artistic depiction of the evolution of a supernovae star. On the left, the giant star that creates heavy materials like iron. In the center the explosion is depicted, and on the right its remnant. Credit: (NASA / CXC / SAO / JPL-Caltech)