APOD: 2025 July 22 Б A Double Detonation Supernova
Explanation:
Can some supernovas explode twice?
Yes, when the first explosion acts like a
detonator for the second.
This is a leading hypothesis for the cause of supernova remnant (SNR)
0509-67.5.
In this
two-star system,
gravity causes the larger and fluffier star to
give up mass to a smaller and denser
white dwarf companion.
Eventually the
white dwarf's near-surface temperature goes so high that it explodes, creating a shock wave that goes
both out and in -- and so triggers a full
Type Ia supernova near the center.
Recent images of the SNR 0509-67.5 system, like the
featured image from the
Very Large Telescope in
Chile,
show two shells with radii and compositions consistent with the
double detonation hypothesis.
This system,
SNR 0509-67.5 is also famous for
two standing mysteries: why its
bright supernova
wasn't noted 400 years ago, and
why no visible companion star remains.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
