CHICAGO (AFP) – Astronomers who have long used supernovas as cosmic
mile markers to help measure the expansion of the universe now have an
answer to the nagging question of what sparks the massive stellar
explosions.
"These are such critical objects in understanding the universe," lead author Marat Gilfanov of the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Germany said Wednesday in describing his team's study.
"It was a major embarrassment that we did not know how they worked. Now
we are beginning to understand what lights the fuse of these
explosions."
Most scientists say Type 1a supernovae are formed when a white dwarf star -- the collapsed remnant of an old star -- becomes unstable after it exceeds its weight limit.
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