Rare superluminous supernova spotted by Indian researchers

July 12, 2021

Indian researchers have spotted an extremely bright, hydrogen deficient, fast-evolving supernova (SN).

Key points

The rare spotted supernova shines with energy borrowed from exotic type of neutron star having ultra-powerful magnetic field.
Study on such ancient spatial objects can help in solving the mysteries of early universe.
SN was spotted using special arrangements at India’s Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT-3.6m), Sampurnanand Telescope-1.04m and Himalayan Chandra Telescope-2.0m.
Researchers found that, outer layers of onion structured supernovae were peeled off while core was shining with a borrowed energy source.

What are Supernovae?

Supernovae (SNe) are highly energetic explosions in universe.
Such explosion releases an enormous amount of energy. Supernovae releasing high energy are called Super Luminous Supernova (SLSNe).
Such events are very rare because they generally originated from very massive stars.
Number distribution of such starts in galaxy is sparse. Minimum mass limit is about 25 times that of the sun in order to generate Super Luminous Supernova.
Among the massive stars, SLSNe-I has been counted to 150 entities spectroscopically.
These ancient objects are not much understood because their underlying sources are unclear and their high peak luminosity is unexplained.
Apparent look of SNe was very similar to other objects in field. However, after estimating brightness, it turned out to be very blue object reflecting its brighter character.

Background

SN 2020ank was first discovered by Zwicky Transient Facility on January 19, 2020. It was studied by scientists from Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) Nainital. ARISE is a research institute under Department of Science and Technology (DST).

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