News Astronomy

Shedding light on the precursor to a supernova

By Ron Cowen

- More than 2 years ago

By examining gas lit up by an exploding star, astronomers have obtained new insight into how a common type of supernova erupts.

READY TO BLOW. A compact star called a white dwarf steals matter from a bloated star known as a red giant in this artist’s illustration of conditions leading up to a type 1a supernova.