Who knew we were capable of seeing stars explode? Astronomers have determined the strongest star explosion we were able to spot. The SN2016aps is a supernova in a galaxy 4.5 billion light-years from Earth. Astronomers observed that the supernova brightened before its explosion in December 2015, as ScienceAlert detailed:
Now, astronomers have determined that SN2016aps was 500 times brighter than typical supernova explosions. It is, they say, the brightest, most energetic and maybe even the most massive supernova we've ever seen - pushing it towards the category of hypernova.
"SN2016aps is spectacular in several ways," explained astronomer Edo Berger of Harvard University. "Not only is it brighter than any other supernova we've ever seen, but it has several properties and features that make it rare in comparison to other explosions of stars in the Universe."
Although it peaked in January 2016, observations of SN2016aps were not limited to that timeframe. After the supernova was spotted in the PanSTARRS data, astronomers kept a careful eye to observe how the object dimmed over time, a process that's still occurring.
image via ScienceAlert
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