Astronomers capture incredible 1st image of a dead star that exploded twice. How did it happen?

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You may only live once, but some stars die twice. Astronomers have now discovered the first visual evidence of such a stellar event, a dead star that underwent a so-called “double-detonation.” This could indicate that some stars could go supernova without reaching the so-called Chandrasekhar limit, the minimum mass that a star needs to go supernova.

Using the Very Large Telescope (VLT) and its Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument, the team zoomed in on the centuries-old remains of supernova SNR 0509-67.5 located 60,000 light-years away in the constellation Dorado. This investigation revealed structures within this explosive wreckage that indicate its progenitor star exploded not once but twice.

Said star was a white dwarf, the type of stellar remnant that forms when a star with a mass similar to that of the sun runs out of fuel for nuclear fusion.

An image of the double detonation supernova SNR 0509-67.5 as seen by the VLT. (Image credit: ESO/P. Das et al. Background stars (Hubble): K. Noll et al.)

The types of supernova explosions that white dwarfs undergo, Type Ia supernovas, are important to astronomers because they can be used to measure cosmic distances because their light output is so uniform. Thus, astronomers often refer to them as “standard candles.”

The first visual evidence of a double detonation white dwarf reveals hidden depths to these important stellar events, scientists say.



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