Chemical residues yield clues to supernova explosions
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.027711
Ars Technica : To better understand how a supernova explodes, astronomers analyze the glowing debris left behind. Theoretical models predict that such explosions are asymmetrical, but until now observational evidence has been inconclusive. In a recent study of Cassiopeia A, a massive star in our Milky Way galaxy that went supernova more than 400 years ago, researchers looked for evidence of a radioactive isotope of titanium, one of the many heavy elements created when stars explode. As predicted, the distribution of the isotope showed evidence of asymmetry in the boundary layer between the collapsing core and the exploding outer layers. However, the distribution of iron and nickel did not match that of titanium, and so the evidence remains inconclusive.
