Astronomers in Stockholm have, together with an international research team, investigated the star SN 2021yfj. The study was published in the journal Nature.
”This was the first time we saw an exploding star that was in principle completely stripped. It shows us how stars are constructed and that they can lose a lot of material before they explode”, says Steve Schulze, who led the study, in a press release from Stockholm University.
Exploding stars can be seen in the night sky for a few weeks per year. The researchers saw the star through a telescope when it appeared in the constellation Pisces in September 2021.
The star contains the for this type of star unusual elements silicon and sulfur.
These are produced in the very innermost parts of massive stars, but we have never before seen evidence of this in such a clear way, says Jesper Sollerman, professor at the department of astronomy.
The researchers collected observations from several of the world's largest telescopes in Hawaii, the Canary Islands and in Chile during almost two months.
