The incredible image of a star that has died twice and still shines

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Observing the stars and the mysteries of the universe through a telescope is undoubtedly a fascinating experience for humans. But what if, in addition to gazing at distant celestial bodies, you could see the remains of a star that exploded not once, but twice, more than 160,000 light-years away?

That's precisely what the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) has achieved by capturing a stunning image of the supernova remnant SNR 0509-67.5, located in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). This image is not only visually stunning, but also represents a milestone in astronomy: it is the first visual evidence of a double-detonated supernova.

The discovery was recently published in the journal Nature Astronomy . According to the researchers, when analyzing the centuries-old remains of this supernova, they discovered two thin concentric rings of calcium surrounding the stellar remnant. This structure revealed that the star not only exploded, but did so twice, a phenomenon never clearly observed until now.

What does it mean when a star explodes twice?

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Most supernovae occur when massive stars exhaust their nuclear fuel and collapse under their own gravity. However, in this case, the origin appears to be different: the event comes from a white dwarf, the remnant core of a Sun-like star that has already used up its energy.

According to an article in National Geographic , some white dwarfs can accumulate a thin layer of helium from a companion star. When this layer reaches a certain level of instability, it first detonates on the surface, generating a shock wave that travels toward the core, where the second explosion occurs: the supernova itself.

These types of events, known as double-detonation supernovae, are extremely rare. Until now, they were only hypothesized in theoretical models, but the discovery of SNR 0509-67.5 offers the first visual confirmation that they can actually occur.

In addition to expanding our understanding of how stars die, these types of supernovae play a fundamental role in the universe. They are key to calculating the expansion of the cosmos, as they serve as "standard candles" for measuring astronomical distances.

But they also have a direct connection to Earth : they are one of the main sources of heavy elements like iron, which accounts for approximately 32% of the planet's mass... and is even part of our blood. This discovery not only confirms a complex astrophysical theory, but also reminds us how, amid the silence of space, an explosion that occurred hundreds of years ago can still reveal the deepest secrets of the universe.

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