Ultra-rare Nasa video reveals ‘three faces’ of an evolving supernova

NASA has revealed ultra-rare footage of an 11-billion-year-old supernova.

The 1-minute-39-second-long video shows three different moments in a far-off supernova explosion.

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A supernova is a violent explosion that comes at the end of a star’s lifecycle.

The star’s luminosity after eruption increases to millions of times its normal level and can cause it to shine brighter than its entire host galaxy.

Nasa used its Hubble Space Telescope to capture the images of this particular supernova in the galaxy cluster Abell 370.

The supernova exploded more than 11 billion years ago – when the universe was less than 2 billion years old.

Nasa called the images the first detailed look astronomers have had at a supernova so early in the universe’s history.

“It is quite rare that a supernova can be detected at a very early stage because that stage is really short,” explained Wenlei Chen, the first author of a paper studying the supernova.

“It only lasts for hours to a few days, and it can be easily missed even for a nearby detection. In the same exposure, we are able to see a sequence of the images—like multiple faces of a supernova.”

This research could help scientists learn more about the formation of stars and galaxies in the early universe.

What’s more, the supernova images showcase two other moments in the supernova’s life.

This was possible due to a phenomenon called gravitational lensing, which was first predicted by Albert Einstein.

The term describes when closer objects act as magnifying glasses for distant objects.

Nasa explained further: “The immense gravity of the galaxy cluster Abell 370 acted as a cosmic lens, bending and magnifying the light from the more distant supernova located behind the cluster.”

“The warping also produced multiple images of the explosion over different time periods that all arrived at Earth at the same time and were caught in one Hubble image.”

Also on display in the photos, are the fading supernova’s rapid change of color, which showcase temperature change.

Blue colors mean hotter temperatures, and redder colors stand to represent cooler temperatures.

“You see different colors in the three different images,” said Patrick Kelly, study leader and an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota’s School of Physics and Astronomy.

“You’ve got the massive star, the core collapses, it produces a shock, it heats up, and then you’re seeing it cool over a week.”

“I think that’s probably one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen!”