This weekend a spectacular event will light up the night sky for anyone in possession of a good pair of binoculars or a small telescope. Just above the big dipper, a white dwarf star classified as PTF 11kly will reach the conclusion of its transformation in the form of a supernova.
A supernova is nothing less than the massive explosion of a star. The explosions of supernova are very bright, causing an intense burst of radiation with light that often outshines the galaxy the star is a part of. The entire explosion will expel all of the star’s material with a velocity that can reach up to 30,000km/sec; this is the equivalent of roughly 10 percent the speed of light.
Located 21 million light years from Earth, astronomers have named this even to be right in our backyard; similar events typically happen billions of light years away. PTF 11kly is located in the Pinwheel Galaxy. The galaxy, and its star, can be located just above the last two stars in the handle of the big dipper, creating a triangle with the Pinwheel Galaxy the top point.
The supernova, which was announced Wednesday, will reach its peak sometime between Sept. 9 and 12. Astronomers have been watching the star since Aug. 24, and state that it has literally grown brighter by the minute, increasing in luminosity by 20 times in just one day. The discovery was made by scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California at Berkeley. According to Reuters, these scientists say this supernova “will likely become the most-studied supernova in history.” Peter Nugent, the senior scientist at UC Berkeley who first spotted the supernova, also told Reuters “There are billions of stars in a galaxy. This supernova will outshine them all this weekend.”
Events like this supernova can be studied by astronomers for decades. The blast that will tear apart the star, sending matter into all directions of space, is only the beginning. The matter that is sent into space will become the building blocks for new stars and planets. Events such as this supernova are also studied by scientists hoping to understand the universe, how it was created and how it is expanding.
This is the fourth known supernova to grace Earth from the Pinwheel Galaxy, with the other three occurring in 1909, 1951 and 1970. This is, however, the first we have the capability to truly watch, study and learn from, thanks to modern technology.
The same supernova, were it to occur within our own Milky Way Galaxy, would light up not only the night sky but scientists believe it would be visible during the day as well. Such an event hasn’t happened since 1572, with a supernova that was visible to the naked eye for months.