Not So Current Events in Astronomy: Going Nova for 400 years

Image Credit: MPIA/NASA/Calar Alto Observatory

This star exploded more than 400 years ago. How mind-blowing is that (pardon the pun)? This is the remnant of the Tycho supernova, and while technically it is already done exploding, the debris is still expanding and visible (green and yellow). The ultra-energetic electrons of the blast’s outer shock wave are still visible as well (blue). Makes me wish I had been around to see the actual explosion.

Star explosions are one of those things that – in the mathematical abstract – seem both logical and almost comforting. They are an affirmation of the principles of physics and chemistry at work. The mass of certain elements, the pressure of that mass, the physical reactions of the atmoic structure to pressure.

In the less abstract, more giant-exploding-ball-of-hot-gas kind of way, they are beautiful and amazing and frightening all at once. That is a tremendous amount of raw power, both destructive and creative at the same time. It is moments like these that I find marine biology and underwater exploration a little more comforting somehow. The environment is even less forgiving than space, but the force of water, while incredibly powerful, is not quite at the supernova level. When the explosion is so big it is still visible 400 years later, well, that’s pretty darn spectacular.

Tagged as: current events in astronomy, energetic electrons, explosion, physics and chemistry, principles of physics, shock wave, star explosions, supernova