Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
scitechdaily.com/rare-supernova-defies-textbooks-and-reveals-inner-layers-of-a-dying-star
Near the end of its life, SN 2021yfj's stripped-to-the-bone progenitor underwent two rare and extremely violent pair-instability episodes, ejecting shells rich in silicon (grey), sulphur (yellow), and argon (purple). The collision of these massive shells is so violent that it created a brilliant supernova that could still be seen at a distance of 2.2 billion light-years. SN 2021yfj is so unusual that it defines a new class, Type Ien, and the star itself may have survived the event.
Credit: W.M. Keck Observatory/Adam Makarenko
scitechdaily.com/rare-supernova-defies-textbooks-and-reveals-inner-layers-of-a-dying-star
Near the end of its life, SN 2021yfj's stripped-to-the-bone progenitor underwent two rare and extremely violent pair-instability episodes, ejecting shells rich in silicon (grey), sulphur (yellow), and argon (purple). The collision of these massive shells is so violent that it created a brilliant supernova that could still be seen at a distance of 2.2 billion light-years. SN 2021yfj is so unusual that it defines a new class, Type Ien, and the star itself may have survived the event.
Credit: W.M. Keck Observatory/Adam Makarenko
