KEY POINTS:
WASHINGTON: Two explosions observed in 2004 and 2006 in a galaxy 78 million light years from Earth were part of the fiery death of one of the most massive stars known, say scientists. Writing in the journal Nature, the scientists described the supernova death of a star estimated to be 50 to 100 times as massive as our sun in a galaxy called UGC4904 in the Lynx constellation.
A supernova is a gigantic explosion that marks the demise of a star.
The researchers said Japanese astronomer Koichi Itagaki discovered a faint celestial explosion that remained visible for 10 days in 2004, then found a more powerful one two years later.
Andrea Pastorello of Queen's University, Belfast, one of the researchers, said: "In the 2004 outburst episode, the star lost a significant amount of the external mantle, while in the 2006 episode its heart collapsed, likely forming a black hole. The rest of the star exploded as a very luminous supernova."
- NZPA
