iPTF14hls Erupted 6 Times Since 1954, Defying Supernova Models
Updated
Updated · Boing Boing · Jun 19
iPTF14hls Erupted 6 Times Since 1954, Defying Supernova Models
1 articles · Updated · Boing Boing · Jun 19
Summary
Archival images tied iPTF14hls to a 1954 blast, lifting its known total to six eruptions after astronomers first logged it as a supernova in 2014.
Over roughly 1,000 days, the star brightened at least five times by as much as 50% instead of fading within the expected 100 days.
At about 5,000 to 6,000 Kelvin, it stayed nearly constant in temperature, while its debris expanded six times more slowly than any known supernova.
Estimated at at least 50 solar masses, the star has prompted ideas including antimatter burning, pulsational pair-instability and a magnetar, but none explains all of its behavior.
The object faded into a remnant nebula in 2018, and Hubble is still imaging the site as astronomers test how the case could reshape supernova theory.