Astronomers may have found something completely new, J0624–6948, a supernova that exploded in intergalactic spaceand this despite the fact that supernovae in the Milky Way have been seen by humans since ancient times and thanks to modern telescopes we have seen many of them in other galaxies, but this is nonetheless something never seen before.
As reported in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Societyit is believed that the object is a remnant of supernova exploded in intergalactic space “rogue”, the residual material of a stellar explosion, but the peculiarity that earned it the adjective “rogue” is that it is not inside of a galaxy where these explosions are common, but on the periphery of one of them.
The remains of the supernova that exploded in intergalactic space, called J0624–6948, are located between the Milky Way and the Large Magellanic Cloud, the largest of the satellites in our galaxy. The Large Magellanic Cloud is found about 130,000 light years from us and it’s visible to the naked eye from the southern hemisphere.
“The most plausible explanation is that the object is a remnant of a supernova that exploded in intergalactic space that resided on the outskirts of the Large Magellanic Cloud which had undergone a degenerate type Ia supernova which resulted in the explosion of two stars in orbit the one over the other “
explains the researcher and author, the Professor Miroslav Filipovicof Western Sydney University, in a statement.
The discovery of the supernova exploded in intergalactic space
When researchers first identified this supernova that exploded in intergalactic space J0624–6948, they first thought it was a much farther odd radio circle (ORC) – peculiar structures much larger than the galaxies that have recently been in the news, or the explanation may have been closer to home.
“However, we considered other scenarios such as the fact that this object could represent a remnant of the superglow activity of a nearby star in the Milky Way (just 190 light-years away from the Sun) that occurred only a few centuries ago, or the premise which could actually be a much larger ORC “
explained Professor Filipovic.
There are five known ORCs and they all look similar, and not seeming to be the case, the team could not find a galaxy within it, although if it were as distant as other ORCs, it would be huge, and would span millions of years. light.
The idea that this is a rogue supernova is compelling and currently the most likely scenario, according to observations.
“What we have potentially discovered is a unique supernova remnant that has expanded into a rarefied, intergalactic environment, an environment that we did not expect to find in such an object. Our estimates indicate an age between approximately 2200 and 7100 years “
added Professor Filipovic.
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