The superlative superluminous supernova
Stories from Physics
for 11-14
14-16
In 2016, astrophysicists reported the occurrence of one of the most luminous supernovae ever detected. The supernova shone with a brightness 20 times more intense than all the stars in the Milky Way or 600 billion times brighter than the Sun. The so-called ‘superluminous supernova’ was so unexpectedly bright it has challenged astrophysicists’ models of how supernovae occur.
References
The superlative superluminous supernova
S. Dong, B. J. Shappee, J. L. Prieto, S. W. Jha, K. Z. Stanek, T. S. Holoien, … & U. Basu, ASASSN-15lh: A highly super-luminous supernova. Science, vol. 351, no. 6270, 2016, pp. 257-260.
L. Billings, Found: The Most Powerful Supernova Ever Seen, 14th January 2016, Scientific American Website, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/found-the-most-powerful-supernova-ever-seen/
