Stars go kaboom, spilling cosmic secrets
Astronomers hope type 1a supernovas will help in quest to explain dark energy
By Ron Cowen, 11:07 AM July 30, 2009
At least once a second, a dim, elderly star somewhere in the cosmos turns into a thermonuclear bomb. Briefly outshining its home galaxy, the explosion, known as a type 1a supernova, unleashes the equivalent of 1028 megatons of TNT — enough energy to destroy an entire solar system.
Astronomers have marveled at these cosmic firecrackers for centuries. But so far nobody has explained in detail how these supernovas explode. Now, theorists are on the verge of attaining that understanding — and jus...
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