In 2021, a star named SN2021yfj went supernova in a way scientists hadn’t seen before. It exploded, naked, allowing scientists to get a peek at the inside of a star.
SN2021yfj spewed out heavy elements like silicon, sulfur, and argon, stuff that’s usually locked up near the core of a star, never to be seen. To spot them in the debris field meant something wild and rare had happened: this star had been stripped nearly bare before it exploded.
Usually, when a star dies, we catch hints of lighter elements, such as hydrogen and helium, and possibly some carbon. Heavier elements are usually still buried too deeply to be noticed. But this time, the explosion served up a rare glimpse at the star’s inner onion-like structure, long theorized but never before confirmed.
That alone makes this supernova a once-in-a-generation find.
A Star Exploded So Hard Scientists Got To See Its Guts
Astrophysicist Adam Miller of Northwestern University says it was such an unusual sight that they initially thought they weren’t looking at the proper object. However, they did, and what they saw may alter our understanding of how stars evolve, and it changes a great deal about how they form.
Researchers suggest the star didn’t just suddenly blow up. Instead, it died slowly and violently, ejecting mass in waves as it struggled to keep its core together, essentially convulsing, going into fits, as it was ripping itself apart.
These pre-explosion convulsions may have peeled away its outer layers little by little until all that was left was its dense inner self. When the final detonation came, it slammed into these earlier layers, creating a light show visible from Earth.
“This is the first time we have seen a star that was essentially stripped to the bone,” said astrophysicist Steve Schulze.
In a press release, Miller says that he and the team have theories on what caused this explosion, but admits that they are probably incorrect. There’s so little precedent. No one has ever seen what they just saw. All they can do is guess, and probably incorrectly, until they see it again and then again.
Hopefully they do.
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