NASA’s Fermi telescope reveals the power source behind monster supernovae
Key takeaways
- NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope may have finally uncovered what powers some of the brightest stellar explosions ever observed.
- The Fermi mission is part of NASA's network of observatories designed to track changing events across the universe and help scientists better understand how cosmic phenomena work.
- The findings were published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
Why this matters: new research or scientific developments with potential real-world impact.
NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope may have finally uncovered what powers some of the brightest stellar explosions ever observed. After studying years of data, an international research team found strong evidence that a rare superluminous supernova was energized by an extremely magnetic neutron star formed during the star's collapse.
The Fermi mission is part of NASA's network of observatories designed to track changing events across the universe and help scientists better understand how cosmic phenomena work.
"For nearly 20 years, astronomers have searched Fermi data for gamma-ray signals from thousands of supernovae, and while a few intriguing hints have been reported, none were definitive until now," study lead Fabio Acero at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the University of Paris-Saclay.