Another, less common kind of supernova, type 1a, occurs when a remnant of a star called a white dwarf steals matter from a companion star until
the white dwarf explodes (SN: 4/30/16, p. 20).
A stellar ember called
a white dwarf exploded after gorging on material stolen from its neighbour.
Artist's impression of
a white dwarf exploding in a Type Ia supernova.
Not exact matches
Tycho's supernova remnant is all that's left of an
exploded white dwarf.
When a
white dwarf's mass hits a critical value, 1.38 times the mass of the sun, it
explodes like a giant thermonuclear bomb.
Matter falling from a companion star onto a
white dwarf might have induced a thermonuclear chain reaction that forced the
dwarf to expand radically without
exploding into a more common nova, Bond notes.
When the
white dwarf has devoured enough material, it can
explode as a nova.
Modern astronomers have long speculated that their 17th century counterparts had observed a nova — an
exploding white dwarf.
The blast from one of the Milky Way supernovas, which Rest has seen from different angles, looks symmetric, suggesting it was the result of a
white dwarf stealing from its companion until it
exploded — a typical type Ia.
But it turns out
white dwarfs can breach that tipping point in another situation: Instead of a giant star losing material to a
white dwarf, two
white dwarfs orbiting each other could slam together and
explode.
At first glance this
exploding star had all the features of a type Ia supernova, which happens when a small, dense
white dwarf star steals material from an orbiting companion and then
explodes.
Sandage's preferred method is to use type Ia supernovae, which arise when a
white dwarf star gathers material from a companion and
explodes.
These so - called supersoft sources are now thought to be
white dwarf stars that cannibalize their stellar companions and then, in many cases,
explode
Astronomers believe that Type Ia supernovae occur when matter falls into an old
white -
dwarf star and pushes its mass over a threshold at which the carbon core ignites and triggers the star to
explode.
The UCSB - led research implies that the
white dwarf was stealing matter from a much larger companion star — approximately 20 times the radius of the sun — which caused the
white dwarf to
explode.
Assuming that dark matter particles are fairly heavy and can interact with each other in some way, they could increase the
white dwarf's density enough to make it
explode.
The
white dwarf accretes material from the companion star, then at some point, it might
explode as a type Ia supernova.
The most famous supernovae are the result of a massive star
exploding, but a
white dwarf, the remnant of an intermediate mass star like our Sun, can also
explode.
At the age of 20, when most college sophomores are still picking their majors, Harvard student Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar proved that
white dwarf stars would
explode after reaching a mass 1.4 times that of our sun.
My research concentrates on the study of
exploding stars — mainly nova outbursts caused by thermonuclear explosions on the surface of
white dwarfs in binary star systems.
These include deep theoretical issues of how helium
explodes, and whether or not the underlying
white dwarf remains behind.
The speed at which US 708 is departing the Milky Way would depend on the mass of the
white dwarf that
exploded.
As the
white dwarf accretes material from the nearby star, it's possible that could
explode as a type la supernova.
If the
white dwarf accretes enough material to reach the Chandrasekhar limit, the maximum mass of a stable
white dwarf star (1.4 solar mass), it will likely
explode as a Type Ia supernova.