RR Phantom
Location : Wasted Space Job/hobbies : Cayman Islands Actuary
| Subject: Supernova explosion: rare glimpse into how life is created Thu Dec 15, 2011 4:37 am | |
| A supernova 21 million light years away has offered a rare glimpse of how exploding stars can breathe life into the universe.
Scientists captured images of the titanic blast just 11 hours after the explosion in an outer spiral arm of the Pinwheel Galaxy in the Great Bear constellation.
Three powerful Earth-based telescopes and the American space agency Nasa's Swift orbital observatory were used to study the event, dubbed SN 2011fe.
The results produced a wealth of data, showing in unprecedented detail how heavier elements such as oxygen and iron were flung out of the expanding fireball.
In time, these elements will become building blocks of new solar systems and possibly their living inhabitants.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/supernova-explosion-rare-glimpse-into-how-life-is-created-20111215-1ovi9.html#ixzz1gavCbj7K
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