Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Powerful Supernova May Be Related To Death Spasms of First Stars

Posted by Zonk on from the we-need-a-few-more-heavy-elements-out-here dept.

necro81 writes "The New York Times is reporting on a discovery from a team of UC Berkley researchers, who may have discovered the brightest stellar explosion ever observed. Observations of the cataclysmic explosion of a 100- to 200-solar-mass star began last September, based on data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The researchers believe that the explosion is similar to the death spasms of the first stars in the universe. The super-massive star's collapse is believed to have been so energetic as to create unstable electron-positron pairs that tore the star apart before it could collapse into a black hole — seeding the universe with heavier elements."

5 of 136 comments (clear)

  1. Kinda OT, but I thought I'd say... by Red+Flayer · · Score: 5, Funny

    Great summary. Lots of informative links, accurate and intriguing summary of the article(s). No gratuitous inflammatory question.

    Someone pinch me, I think I'm dreaming.

    --
    "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
    1. Re:Kinda OT, but I thought I'd say... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Look, though! there's an off-topic post!!!

  2. Boom? by Jugalator · · Score: 3, Funny

    Big badaboom!

    --
    Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
  3. That's no Supernova by MHz-Man · · Score: 3, Funny

    It was a precursor bomb! Looks like someone's copying the Shofixti's tactics.

  4. Old News... by rthille · · Score: 3, Funny


    Slashdot, 240 million years behind the times.

    (I should probably post this anonymously :-)

    --
    Awesome furniture, accessories and cabinetry in Santa Rosa, CA: http://humanity-home.com/