A longstanding mystery about the tiny stars that let loose powerful explosions known as Type Ia supernovae might finally be solved. For brief periods, these cataclysmic blasts can outshine an entire galaxy of billions of stars. Astrophysicists want to understand their origins because they are integral to the evolution of galaxies and the study of dark energy.
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| Type 1a Supernova A visualization of a computer simulation of a Type Ia supernova. Ejected material (brown) from an exploding white dwarf star crashes into its companion star (blue), yielding an ultraviolet pulse of light streaming from the companion star’s location |
