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A Strange Supernova with a Gamma-Ray Burst
October 15, 1998On April 25, the BeppoSAX satellite detected a Gamma-Ray Burst
from the direction of the constellation Telescopium, deep in the
southern sky. Although there is now general consensus that they
originate in very distant galaxies, the underlying physical causes of
these events that release great amounts of energy within seconds are still
puzzling astronomers.
Immediately after reports about the April 25 Burst had been received,
astronomers at La Silla took some images of the sky region where the
gamma-rays were observed. A comparatively bright object was found in a
galaxy, ESO184-G82 in this field.
The ESO astronomers at La Silla decided to continue observations of
the new star-like object and set up a comprehensive programme with
several telescopes at that observatory. During the subsequent weeks and
months, they obtained images through various filtres to determine the
brightness in different colours, as well as detailed spectra. These
observations soon showed the object to be a supernova. This is a heavy
star that explodes during a late and fatal evolutionary stage. The new
supernova now received the official designation SN 1998bw.
From a careful study based on these observations, it has been concluded
that SN 1998bw underwent an exceptionally powerful explosion, more
violent than most other supernovae observed so far. It was also unusual
in the sense that very strong radio emission was observed within a few
days after the explosion - normally this only happens after several
weeks. In fact, at radio wavelengths, SN 1998bw was the brightest
supernova ever observed.
SN 1998bw is obviously an unusual supernova. It is therefore of
particular significance that a Gamma-Ray Burst was observed from the
same sky region just before it was discovered in optical light. It is very
unlikely that these two very rare events would happen in the same
region of the sky without being somehow related. Most astronomers
therefore tend to believe that the gamma-rays do indeed originate in the
supernova explosion.
Full information about these ESO observations and the implications, with
related sky photos, are now available as ESO Press Release 15/98
(15 October 1998) at:
http://www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/pr-1998/pr-15-98.html
European Southern Observatory (ESO)
the new star-like object and set up a comprehensive programme with
several telescopes at that observatory. During the subsequent weeks and
months, they obtained images through various filtres to determine the
brightness in different colours, as well as detailed spectra. These
observations soon showed the object to be a supernova. This is a heavy
star that explodes during a late and fatal evolutionary stage. The new
supernova now received the official designation SN 1998bw.
From a careful study based on these observations, it has been concluded
that SN 1998bw underwent an exceptionally powerful explosion, more
violent than most other supernovae observed so far. It was also unusual
in the sense that very strong radio emission was observed within a few
days after the explosion - normally this only happens after several
weeks. In fact, at radio wavelengths, SN 1998bw was the brightest
supernova ever observed.
SN 1998bw is obviously an unusual supernova. It is therefore of
particular significance that a Gamma-Ray Burst was observed from the
same sky region just before it was discovered in optical light. It is very
unlikely that these two very rare events would happen in the same
region of the sky without being somehow related. Most astronomers
therefore tend to believe that the gamma-rays do indeed originate in the
supernova explosion.
Full information about these ESO observations and the implications, with
related sky photos, are now available as ESO Press Release 15/98
(15 October 1998) at:
http://www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/pr-1998/pr-15-98.html
European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Galaxies Current Events and Galaxies News RSSWatching a Cannibal Galaxy Dine
A new technique using near-infrared images, obtained with ESO's 3.58-metre New Technology Telescope (NTT), allows astronomers to see through the opaque dust lanes of the giant cannibal galaxy Centaurus A, unveiling its "last meal" in unprecedented detail - a smaller spiral galaxy, currently twisted and warped.
Baffling boxy bulge
When targeting spiral galaxy bulges, astronomers often seek edge-on galaxies, as their bulges are more easily distinguishable from the disc.
Rapid star formation spotted in 'stellar nurseries' of infant galaxies
The Universe's infant galaxies enjoyed rapid growth spurts forming stars like our sun at a rate of up to 50 stars a year, according to scientists at Durham University.
Swift XMM-Newton Satellites Tune Into a Middleweight Black Hole
While astronomers have studied lightweight and heavyweight black holes for decades, the evidence for black holes with intermediate masses has been much harder to come by.
'Dropouts' pinpoint earliest galaxies
Astronomers, conducting the broadest survey to date of galaxies from about 800 million years after the Big Bang, have found 22 early galaxies and confirmed the age of one by its characteristic hydrogen signature at 787 million years post Big Bang.
VERITAS telescopes help solve 100-year-old mystery: The origin of cosmic rays
Nearly 100 years ago, scientists detected the first signs of cosmic rays - subatomic particles (mostly protons) that zip through space at nearly the speed of light.
Iowa State researchers contribute to discovery of gamma rays from starburst galaxy
Iowa State University astrophysicists contributed to the recent discovery that a galaxy quickly creating new stars is also a source of high energy gamma rays.
Starburst galaxy sheds light on longstanding cosmic mystery
An international collaboration that includes scientists from the University of Delaware's Bartol Research Institute in the Department of Physics and Astronomy has discovered very-high-energy gamma rays in the Cigar Galaxy (M82), a bright galaxy filled with exploding stars 12 million light years from Earth.
NASA's Fermi Telescope Detects Gamma-Ray From
Nearby galaxies undergoing a furious pace of star formation also emit lots of gamma rays, say astronomers using NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope.
Shedding light on the cosmic skeleton
"Matter is not distributed uniformly in the Universe," says Masayuki Tanaka from ESO, who led the new study. "In our cosmic vicinity, stars form in galaxies and galaxies usually form groups and clusters of galaxies. The most widely accepted cosmological theories predict that matter also clumps on a larger scale in the so-called 'cosmic web', in which galaxies, embedded in filaments stretching between voids, create a gigantic wispy structure."
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