Astronomers found the supernova so luminous that they piqued their interest, finding that it became even brighter through gravitational lensing.
June 12th
2023
– 6:46 pm
(updated at 10:22 p.m.)
Gravitational lensing magnified the supernova 25 times, revealing it to astronomers. This phenomenon was caused by a galaxy, and it can help them study the nuclei of galaxies dark matter and more.
Image: NASA/CSC/M. Weiss/Canaltech
The supernova, named SN Zwicky, was first identified by the Zwicky Transient Facility survey. It was so bright that it was soon classified as an interesting object, and studied using images from various observatories.
Together, they showed something interesting: the supernova was bright because its light was amplified by a gravitational lens. Gravitational lensing can be described as a rare but practical example of a lens theory general relativityin Albert Einstein. It is suggested that massive objects (such as galaxies) can distort the fabric of space-time, and also affect the path that light travels.
In practice, this distortion allows scientists to observe objects that may be too far out of view. The video below shows a file Image of the “multiplier” supernova. Thanks to the lens:
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Other objects have already been spotted with the help of gravitational lensing, Like ancient black holes. What makes SN Zwicky even more interesting is that it belongs to a class of supernovae that can help scientists measure cosmic distances.
Moreover, expanded supernovae like this can be promising tools for studying and purifying dark energy The rate of expansion of the universe. “This discovery paves the way for us to find more of these magnified supernovae in future studies, which will help us study transient astronomical events such as supernovae and gamma-ray bursts,” suggested Igor Andreoni, co-author of the study.
The article describing the results has been published in the journal natural astronomy.
source: natural astronomy; via: University of Maryland
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