About 88 million years ago, a star collapsed in a massive thermonuclear explosion. This news, traveling at the speed of light, reached planet Earth on January 9, 2008.
Why is this supernova different from all other supernova? Usually star death isn't detected until after the explosion (and release of light), but Dr. A.M. Soderberg had been observing a different supernova when she detected an unexpected burst of X-rays nearby. This flash of X-rays was the first hint that a star was about to die. Soderberg and colleagues were able to watch the new supernova explode.
Read more about this in the New York Times Science section, or see the abstract from Nature.
Prologues
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