A new type of supernova outbreak with a predominance of heavy metals has been discovered in the USA

Astronomers from the Northwestern University of the USA (NWU) have discovered a new type of supernova outbreak with a predominance of heavy metals in the constellation of Cetus. The study began on September 7, 2021, and the results of the study were published on August 20 this year in the scientific journal Nature.

It is noted that the supernova SN2021yfj was generated by a dying star, which for the first time in the history of the study of astronomy shed almost all the outer shells in the last moments of life. The death of the star gave rise to a bright flash, which attracted the attention of scientists with an unusual structure of the spectrum, which indicated the presence of large amounts of sulfur, silicon, argon and some other heavy elements.

"In this article, we report the discovery of supernova (SN) 2021yfj, formed as a result of the star's exposure to its rich O/Si/S (oxygen/silicon/sulfur) layer. We are directly observing a thick, massive shell rich in silicon and sulfur, ejected by the progenitor shortly before the supernova explosion," the publication says.

It is known from the theory of stellar evolution that stars synthesize heavier ones from lighter ones in their inner layers before death. This study proved the scientists' assumption that lighter elements make up the outer layers of the star's shell, while heavier elements are closer to the iron core.

According to the researchers, this is the first time that a dying star has almost completely shed all its layers and at the same time produced a colossal explosion visible from billions of light-years away.

Earlier, on August 11, an international group of astronomers recorded for the first time the moment of the beginning of the formation of planets around the central star. Astronomers have discovered the moment when planets began to form around a star located about 1.3 thousand light-years from Earth. This discovery was made using powerful instruments — the James Webb Space Telescope and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescope in Chile. The discovery gave scientists a unique insight into exactly how the first stages of planet formation occur in young epochs.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.