An article in Science reports on the discovery of ASASSN-15lh (SN 2015L),
the most luminous yet found, at least twice as bright than the previous record holder.
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Originally Posted by Dong et. al. Science
It appears to originate in a large quiescent galaxy, in contrast to most super-luminous supernovae, which typically come from star-forming dwarf galaxies.
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Originally Posted by Dong et. al. Science Abstract
We report the discovery of ASASSN-15lh (SN 2015L), which we interpret as the most luminous supernova yet found. At redshift z = 0.2326, ASASSN-15lh reached an absolute magnitude of Mu,AB = –23.5 ± 0.1 and bolometric luminosity Lbol = (2.2 ± 0.2) × 1045 ergs s–1, which is more than twice as luminous as any previously known supernova. It has several major features characteristic of the hydrogen-poor super-luminous supernovae (SLSNe-I), whose energy sources and progenitors are currently poorly understood. In contrast to most previously known SLSNe-I that reside in star-forming dwarf galaxies, ASASSN-15lh appears to be hosted by a luminous galaxy (MK ≈ –25.5) with little star formation. In the 4 months since first detection, ASASSN-15lh radiated (1.1 ± 0.2) × 1052 ergs, challenging the magnetar model for its engine.
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Science article here (subscription required) -
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/351/6270/257
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Originally Posted by Lee Billings, Scientific American
Astronomers have glimpsed the most powerful supernova ever seen, a star in a galaxy billions of light-years away that exploded with such force it briefly shone nearly 600 billion times brighter than our Sun and 20 times brighter than all the stars in the Milky Way combined. The explosion released 10 times more energy than the Sun will radiate in 10 billion years.
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Originally Posted by Lee Billings, Scientific American
“ASASSN-15lh is the most powerful supernova discovered in human history,” said lead author Subo Dong, an astronomer at the Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics at Peking University. “It provides a great puzzle—it challenges all our previous theories of explosion mechanisms and power sources of superluminous supernovae.”
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Scientific American article here -
http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...ova-ever-seen/
Reuters article by Irene Klotz in Sydney Morning Herald -
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci...14-gm6b85.html
