Astronomers have confirmed that the supernova discovered in November last year by Caroline Moore — called SN 2008ha — is a new type of stellar explosion, 1000 times more powerful than a nova but 1000 times less powerful than a supernova.

Astronomers say that it may be the weakest supernova ever seen.

Even though this explosion was a weakling compared to most supernovae, for a short time SN 2008ha was 25 million times brighter than the sun. However, since it is 70 million light years away, it appeared very faint viewed from Earth.

Caroline was able to discover the object using a relatively small telescope, but some of the most advanced teleskopes in the world were needed to determine the nature of the explosion.

The data has been verified by Magellan telescopes in Chile, the MMT telescope in Arizona, the Gemini and Keck telescopes in Hawaii, and NASA Swift satellite.

“Coincidentally, the youngest person to ever discover a supernova found one of the most peculiar and interesting supernovae ever,” said Alex Filippenko, the leader of the University of California, Berkeley supernova group. The paper in this regard is due to appear in next issue of the Astronomical Journal.

“This shows that no matter what your age, anyone can make a significant contribution to our understanding of the Universe,” Filippenko said.

The peculiar object effectively bridged the gap between a nova (a nuclear explosion on the surface of an old, compact star called a white dwarf) and a type Ia supernova (the destructive death of a white dwarf caused by a runaway nuclear reaction starting deep in the star).

SN 2008ha likely was a failed supernova where the explosion was unable to destroy the entire star.

“If a normal supernova is a nuclear bomb, then SN 2008ha is a bunker buster,” said team leader Ryan Foley, Clay fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and first author on the paper reporting the findings.

In typical supernova explosions, light from different chemical elements (such as calcium or iron) is smeared out across the electromagnetic spectrum by the Doppler effect (the same principle that makes a police siren change pitch as it passes).

Because the ejected bits of the star were “only” moving at 4.5 million miles per hour (compared to 22 million miles per hour for a typical supernova), the light was not as smeared out, allowing the team to analyse the composition of the explosion to a new precision.

One reason astronomers haven’t seen this type of explosion before might be because they are so faint. “SN 2008ha was a really wimpy explosion,” said Filippenko.

Bureau Report

Greenhouse gases are released both by nature and human activities. In the wild, methane, a greenhouse gas, is released from arctic tundra and wetlands. The Earth is also bound to undergo a cycle of climate change, that usually lasts about 40,000 years.

However, man-made causes are the most numerous and the most damaging. Pollution, mainly caused by the burning of fossil fuels, is the main factor that disrupts the Earth’s climate. When these fuels are used, or coal and oil are mined, CO2 is released into the atmosphere.

Fossil fuels are used at a greater scale since there are more and more people driving a car, using transportation and more agriculture. Another source of methane is manure, produce by more animals raised for food. Trees are being cut down to make room for homes and buildings, that would convert our CO2 to oxygen. Buildings structure alone account for about 12% of CO2 emissions.

Deforestation is the second cause of atmospheric carbon dioxide. 34 million acres are being cut down each year, leading to 25% of all carbon emissions entering the atmosphere. The forests that we are losing every year can account for an absorption rate of 2 billion tons of carbon annually.