New class of cosmic explosions Astronomers have identified a new class of stellar explosions in M85. Provided by Caltech M85 M85, the northernmost member of the Virgo Cluster and situated in the constellation Coma Berenices, is the home of the new class of stellar explosions. NOAO/AURA/NSF May 24, 2007 Astronomers are announcing today the discovery of a new class of stellar explosions. The finding is based on observations of a flash seen in the Virgo cluster in a galaxy known as Messier 85.
[...] The explosion was surprising because it was far too faint for a supernova, in which a star literally explodes, but clearly too bright for a nova or a thermonuclear explosion from the surface of a white dwarf star. Arne Rau, a postdoctoral fellow working with Kulkarni, said, "I was simply floored. In a short time we went from speculation to a real discovery. It was an exciting moment for me." It took astronomers nearly a century to identify two major classes of cosmic explosions: novae and supernovae. Forty years ago gamma-ray bursts were added to the astronomical lexicon. M85OT2006-1 solidifies and defines a new class of cosmic explosions that the Caltech astronomers have dubbed as Luminous Red Novae. These events have very distinct (red) color and expand quite slowly when compared with novae, supernovae, and gamma-ray bursts. The galaxy in which M85OT2006-1 exploded is composed mainly of old stars, which also indicates that the event probably arose from a population of stars with masses very similar to that of the sun. More than a decade ago, one other similar but poorly studied event was observed in the Andromeda galaxy. Full article at <http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=5580>. -- Ronn! :) _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
