American scientists have discovered a new type of supernova explosion dominated by heavy metals!
This star shed almost all of its outer layers at the end of its life.
Reported by Russian newspaper "Vesti" on August 22, 2025.
Astronomers from Northwestern University (NWU) started their research on September 7, 2021, and published their findings this August 20 in the scientific journal "Nature".
A new type of supernova explosion dominated by heavy metals was found in the constellation Cygnus.
The media pointed out that the supernova SN2021yfj was produced by a dying star that shed almost all of its outer layers at the end of its life, which has never been seen in the history of astronomy.
The death of the star caused a bright explosion that attracted the attention of scientists. Its spectral structure was very unique, showing the presence of large amounts of sulfur, silicon, argon, and some other heavy elements.
According to the theory of stellar evolution, we know that stars synthesize heavier elements in their inner layers before they die.
This study confirmed the scientists' hypothesis that lighter elements formed the outer layers of the star's shell, while heavier elements were closer to the iron core.
According to the researchers, this is the first case of a dying star experiencing a massive explosion where it almost completely sheds all of its layers.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1841108356502535/
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