Why in news?
Researchers at the Arayabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) found that SN 2010kd, a super-luminous supernova stands out with the amount of mass as well as Nickel ejected during explosion, which is much more than seen in case of normal core-collapse supernovae.
Background
- Supernovae are a kind of energetic explosions where the core of massive stars (a few times to that of mass of our Sun) go to a catastrophic phase of explosion liberating huge amounts of energy.
- This transient astronomical event occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion.
- The original object, called the progenitor, either collapses to a neutron star or black hole, or it is completely destroyed.
- The peak optical luminosity of a supernova can be comparable to that of an entire galaxy, before fading over several weeks or months.
- These events are visible through very far away distances much beyond our own solar system.
- Super-luminous supernovae are a special type of stellar explosions having energy output 10 or more times higher than that of standard supernovae.
