Largest Supernova Discovered
Massive Star Explosion Source: NASA Spectacular Space Event An international team of scientists has discovered the most powerful and brightest supernova ever recorded. The space event is off the charts. A supernova is the explosive death of a star. In this case, scientists theorize it may have been two stars that merged and then exploded. The supernova event is unique, extreme and one for the record books. Billions of Light Years Away The event occurred 3.6 billion light years from Earth. It's named SN2016aps. According to lead astronomer Matt Nicholl of the University of Birmingham, the team measured the supernova in two ways: total energy of the explosion and the amount of light or radiation emitted. With normal supernovas, the radiation amounts to 1% of the total energy. In this one, the radiation is an incredible 5 times times the explosion energy. ...