Why do supernovae explode? What causes a massive star to explode? Astronomers have long suspected that thermonuclear fusion is destroying it. But now they have proof: gamma-ray emissions recorded by the European INTEGRAL satellite have become living evidence of the decay of radioactive isotopes baked in a fusion oven from a freshly cooked supernova. The exploding star was discovered completely by accident four months ago in the neighboring galaxy M82, located about 11 million light-years from Earth. It turned out to be a special type of supernova known as “Ia,” which takes about three weeks to reach maximum brightness and then slowly begins to dim. At their peak, these types of exploding stars produce the energy of 4 billion suns, making them a good yardstick for determining cosmic distances. It was with the help of these so-called standard candles that in 1998, astrophysicists discovered an unknown force, dark energy, which is responsible for accelerating the expansion of the Universe. Scientists have suggested that supernova Ia explosions are caused by sudden fusions of carbon and oxygen into heavier elements like nickel-56 inside the white dwarf, making it unstable. “The merger is automatic,” wrote astrophysicist Robert Kirschner of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in a paper in Nature this week. — A fusion fire ignites in a white dwarf, fusing carbon into heavier elements with a sudden release of energy that tears the star apart. The synthesis stops at the element with the strongest nuclear bonds—in the case of a white dwarf, nickel-56.” When the remains of the star M82 were discovered, astronomers rushed to see if the results matched theoretical predictions. “The last type Ia supernova in our galaxy was in 1604,” said Evgeniy Churazov from the German Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics. Together with his colleagues, Churazov used the European Space Agency's International Gamma-Ray Astrophysical Laboratory INTEGRAL to observe the newly discovered supernova between 50 and 100 days after the explosion. They discovered a neat chemical signature caused by the decay of radioactive isotopes of nickel into cobalt and iron. Calculations showed that the amount of radioactive nickel, the speed of expansion of the supernova and the amount of mass produced during the explosion were the same as predicted. “We now see direct cobalt-56 gamma rays, which provide unequivocal evidence that the thermonuclear explosion belongs to Ia. In principle, we expected this, but it is always good to receive irrefutable evidence,” Churazov said. If you've read the article this far please like and subscribe - it really helps the channel. Open the link to find thousands of interesting articles: https://wwwww.youtube.com/...ityytyt3.ggpht.com/...-v1