Watch Supernova 2013ej Explode (VIDEO)
Caption
Watch the explosion of a star in the M74 galaxy as it goes supernova, visible by changes in its brightness over time as observed by a robotic telescope.
SN 2013ej, as it's been named, was a massive star in the nearby galaxy M74. It exploded 30 million years ago. While the explosion was near to Earth by cosmic standards, its light wasn't visible in our night sky until July 23, 2013.
This video was compiled from images taken by Southern Methodist University's robotic ROTSE-IIIb telescope at McDonald Observatory, Fort Davis, Texas.
The video progresses from the supernova's appearance to its peak brightness, plateau and ultimate demise. Viewers can see the core of the M74 galaxy, which is visible in the right foreground. Two bright stars in the Milky Way galaxy are visible in the left foreground. SN 2013ej rises and falls in the background.
The star was one of billions in M74, which like our Milky Way is a spiral galaxy undergoing star formation.
The progenitor star of SN 2013ej had a mass just before its explosion of about 15 times that of the sun, according to SMU graduate student Govinda Dhungana. Its explosion energy equaled the luminosity of 100 million suns.
Like many others, SN 2013ej was a Type II supernova. That is a massive star still undergoing nuclear fusion. Once its fuel runs out, its core collapses. Within a quarter-second the star explodes.
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(Video: Govinda Dhungana, SMU)
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