The Crab Nebula is the remnants of a stellar explosion (supernova remnant). Creator: NASA Goddard.
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(Taro Kotani: University professor and science writer)
On May 19, 2023 (Coordinated Universal Time), it was widely reported on earth that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Hiroshima.
The appearance of a supernova.
A supernova is a huge explosion that occurs at the end of a star’s life. When this light reaches the earth, it is seen as if a new star is born overnight.
In fact, a supernova is something that explodes constantly in a galaxy somewhere, and there are thousands of them every year in total. Most of them are distant and faint and can be found by automated telescopes made specifically for supernova hunting.
However, this supernova 2023ixf, discovered on May 19, is a special supernova that draws a clear line from such an unimaginable supernova, and astronomers, physicists, and northern hemisphere observers are very excited. Many telescopes, observatories and detectors are still watching this supernova on the surface and in orbit.
What is the special supernova Supernova 2023ixf? Let me explain.
Supernova in 10 seconds
A star is a mass of gas floating in space that emits heat and light due to nuclear reactions within it. There are heavy ones and light ones, but especially heavy stars with masses more than eight times the mass of the Sun collapse under their own gravity after running out of fuel nuclei. This is called “gravitational collapse”.
A star that has gravitationally collapsed becomes a “neutron star” an extremely dense object or a “black hole” object with such strong gravity that even light cannot escape.
Gravity fall increases rapidly in about 10 seconds. A massive object called a star can be transformed into a small neutron star or a black hole with a radius of less than 10 km in about 10 seconds.
