ⓘ NASA – Unsplash
An illustration showing a neutron star and another star.
By studying a supernova that occurred in 2023, astronomers may have discovered a very rare explosion. However, further studies will need to be conducted with the help of various instruments to solve this mystery.
A supernova is a powerful phenomenon that is still poorly understood. Indeed, there are different types of supernovae, and some are very rare, such as SN 2023vbw.
This event was first detected by the Zwicky Transient Facility in October 2023, at a distance of about 1.3 billion light-years from Earth, and was classified as a Type II supernova. In other words, this giant star consumed all its nuclear fuel before collapsing, causing a powerful explosion.
However, a new study recently published on arXiv suggests a different origin. By studying this supernova, astronomers noticed that its light curve continued to rise for 190 days. After that, it declined rapidly, and the energy released by this event was 10 times greater than a Type II supernova.
ⓘ arXiv
An image showing the location of SN 2023vbw.
As a result, it could be a pair-instability supernova, a phenomenon rarely observed in the universe. That’s not all, as this star would be a blue supergiant, and astronomers believe that this celestial object may have formed following a merger between two massive stars in a binary system.
But be careful, because while this discovery is fascinating and could help us to better understand these supernovae, these are only hypotheses. Indeed, these stars are poorly understood, and many uncertainties remain.
Image source: NASA Hubble Space Telescope – Unsplash
Alexis Stegmann – Tech Writer – 649 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2025
I’ve been working in the field of web writing for several years, and I’m passionate about keeping readers up to date with the latest news on astronomy, technology, the world of video games and other exciting subjects. In particular, I’ve had the opportunity to work on a number of websites, which has enabled me to cover a wide range of subjects. In my personal life, I’m passionate about a wide range of subjects, including astronomy, video games, history and science. I’m also drawn to psychology, which is a subject that deserves greater documentation and recognition.