spacetoday.net: Astronomers catch supernova explosion in the act

Posted: Fri, May 23, 2008, 12:08 PM ET (1608 GMT)
Supernova SN 2008D (NASA)

A NASA spacecraft has allowed astronomers to observe a supernova explosion as it occurs, rather than observing the aftermath, astronomers said this week. Astronomers using the Swift spacecraft to observe the remnants of a supernova in the galaxy NGC 2770 when they saw a bright x-ray outburst elsewhere in the galaxy. The burst, researchers said, is the signature of a supernova shock wave bursting through the surface of the star, a phenomenon not previously observed in real-time, a conclusion confirmed by later observations of what is now designated SN 2008D. Most supernovae are discovered days or weeks after that x-ray burst, when the expanding shell of debris becomes observable at visible and other wavelengths.