<p>Astronomers have discovered the most luminous supernova ever observed, which is up to 50 times brighter than the entire Milky Way galaxy.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The super-luminous supernova, called ASAS-SN-15lh, was discovered by the All Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae team (ASAS-SN), an international collaboration at the Ohio State University in US, which uses a network of 14-centimetre telescopes around the world to scan the visible sky every two or three nights looking for very bright supernovae.<br /><br />Supernovae are violent stellar explosions and some of the brightest objects in the universe. Human records noting their existence date back nearly 2,000 years.<br /><br />"We spotted a newly occurring explosion in a galaxy of an unknown distance," said Benjamin Shappee, from Carnegie Institution for Science.<br /><br />Subsequent observations allowed the team to confirm the existence of the supernova ASAS-SN-15lh, Shappee said.<br /><br />The supernova's spectra matched that of other hydrogen-poor super-luminous supernovae.<br />However, the researchers realised after further follow-up that it is two times more luminous than any supernova previously discovered.<br /><br />ASAS-SN-15lh at peak was almost 50 times more luminous than the entire Milky Way galaxy, the researchers said.<br /><br />The researchers determined that the galaxy where ASAS-SN-15lh formed is very atypical for a super-luminous supernova, which raises questions about how these types of supernovae form.<br /><br />Its host galaxy is not the typical low-luminosity, star-forming galaxy where previous super-luminous supernovae have been spotted. ASAS-SN-15lh's galaxy is more luminous than our own Milky Way.<br /><br />Within the past two decades a rare new category of super-luminous supernovae have been discovered, which shine one hundred to a thousand times brighter than the more common supernovae.<br /><br />It has been theorised that these super-luminous supernovae are powered by so-called magnetars, neutron stars with extremely powerful magnetic fields, with the magnetism providing the engine for the immense luminosity.<br /><br />According to this theory, the magnetic field's spin magnifies the energy of the explosion, increasing the luminosity.<br /><br />As counterintuitive as it may sound, super-luminous supernovae are difficult for astronomers to spot.<br /><br />This is because they are rare and tend to form in low-luminosity galaxies with vigorous star formation, whereas the sky surveys that have been traditionally used to locate supernovae target bright galaxies with low rates of star formation.<br /><br />The findings were published in the journal Science.</p>
<p>Astronomers have discovered the most luminous supernova ever observed, which is up to 50 times brighter than the entire Milky Way galaxy.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The super-luminous supernova, called ASAS-SN-15lh, was discovered by the All Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae team (ASAS-SN), an international collaboration at the Ohio State University in US, which uses a network of 14-centimetre telescopes around the world to scan the visible sky every two or three nights looking for very bright supernovae.<br /><br />Supernovae are violent stellar explosions and some of the brightest objects in the universe. Human records noting their existence date back nearly 2,000 years.<br /><br />"We spotted a newly occurring explosion in a galaxy of an unknown distance," said Benjamin Shappee, from Carnegie Institution for Science.<br /><br />Subsequent observations allowed the team to confirm the existence of the supernova ASAS-SN-15lh, Shappee said.<br /><br />The supernova's spectra matched that of other hydrogen-poor super-luminous supernovae.<br />However, the researchers realised after further follow-up that it is two times more luminous than any supernova previously discovered.<br /><br />ASAS-SN-15lh at peak was almost 50 times more luminous than the entire Milky Way galaxy, the researchers said.<br /><br />The researchers determined that the galaxy where ASAS-SN-15lh formed is very atypical for a super-luminous supernova, which raises questions about how these types of supernovae form.<br /><br />Its host galaxy is not the typical low-luminosity, star-forming galaxy where previous super-luminous supernovae have been spotted. ASAS-SN-15lh's galaxy is more luminous than our own Milky Way.<br /><br />Within the past two decades a rare new category of super-luminous supernovae have been discovered, which shine one hundred to a thousand times brighter than the more common supernovae.<br /><br />It has been theorised that these super-luminous supernovae are powered by so-called magnetars, neutron stars with extremely powerful magnetic fields, with the magnetism providing the engine for the immense luminosity.<br /><br />According to this theory, the magnetic field's spin magnifies the energy of the explosion, increasing the luminosity.<br /><br />As counterintuitive as it may sound, super-luminous supernovae are difficult for astronomers to spot.<br /><br />This is because they are rare and tend to form in low-luminosity galaxies with vigorous star formation, whereas the sky surveys that have been traditionally used to locate supernovae target bright galaxies with low rates of star formation.<br /><br />The findings were published in the journal Science.</p>