https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEZu3pXAFWY

Hosted by Fraser Cain.

From Jan 31, 2020.

In 2006, astronomers spotted the telltale sign of a supernova detonating in the galaxy NGC 1260, located about 240 million light-years away in the constellation of Perseus. As telescopes around the world turned their collective light-gathering power on the expanding explosion designated as SN 2006gy, they realized they were seeing something very unusual.

This clearly wasn't a regular supernova. It grew to be 100 times brighter than the typical stellar explosion and lasted much much longer.

More than a decade after that cosmic explosion, astronomers finally think they know what series of events led to the release of this much energy, now called a superluminous supernova. A red giant ate a white dwarf. An event so rare it probably accounts for only 1 in 1,000 supernovae!

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