Jan 8 2004
From The Space Library
Astronomers published their analysis of the first observations ever made of a supernova occurring in a binary star, thereby providing crucial support for a theory concerning the most violent type of event in the universe. Supernovas occur when stars exhaust their nuclear fuel reserves and collapse, ejecting their outer layers in a massive explosion. Previously, scientists had regarded the study of supernovas as important for understanding the evolution of galaxies and of the universe, but they had remained uncertain about the origins of supernovas, including whether they occur in solitary or binary star systems. However, the team of astronomers from ESA and the University of Hawaii had used the HST and the W. M. Keck Telescope in Hawaii to observe the remnants of supernova SN 1 993J. They had discovered a massive star in close proximity to the star that had caused SN 1 993J, demonstrating that supernovas emerge from binary star systems. According to the astronomers, supernovas occur in binary systems when one star collapses, shedding its mass, and a nearby star of comparable size accretes the lost mass. (ESA, “First Supernova Companion Star Found,” http ://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMT0J3 74OD_ index_0..html (accessed 14 January 2009); Justyn R. Maund et al., “The Massive Binary Companion Star to the Progenitor of Supernova 1 993J,” Nature 427, no. 6970 (8 January 2004): 129-131.
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