SN 1979C

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SN1979C in M100.jpg

SN 1979C is the name of a supernova ( Type II-L ) from 1979, which is located at a distance of 56 million light years (17.2  megaparsecs ) from the earth in the galaxy M 100 in the Virgo galaxy cluster in the constellation Haar der Berenike is located.

As a result of the supernova explosion, the star temporarily became the brightest object in the galaxy and reached a maximum apparent brightness of 11.6 mag (B-band), but then faded as expected. In supernovae, the luminosity in visible light usually drops by a factor of 250 within ten days, which also happened with this supernova. In 2005, however, it was discovered with the help of the XMM-Newton X-ray telescope that this decrease in luminosity does not take place in the X-ray range . There, SN 1979C shines with the same intensity as it did in 1979. The intense X-rays make it possible to examine the supernova more precisely than ever possible before.

In this way, it was possible for the scientists to reconstruct the size of the star before it burst, namely 18 (± 3) times the mass of our sun . The star emitted a strong stellar wind for several million years , the "afterglow" of which is now visible through the X-rays.

On November 15, 2010, NASA announced that SN 1979C is believed to have evolved into a black hole . The X-ray spectrum of SN 1977C can be simulated by superimposing thermally generated X-rays and the X-rays emitted by an accretion disk of a black hole of 5 to 10 solar masses. Alternatively, accretion from a narrow, stellar companion of the black hole would also be possible, which could explain the light curve in the radio wave range. This black hole would thus be the youngest known object of its kind and allow the formation of a black hole to be investigated in more detail. An alternative explanation would be the formation of a rapidly rotating neutron star , similar to the pulsar in the center of the Crab Nebula .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Nancy Atkinson: Has a Recent, Nearby Supernova Become a Baby Black Hole? In: Universe Today. November 15, 2010. Retrieved May 1, 2020 (American English).
  2. ↑ a b c d e D.J. Patnaude, A. Loeb, C. Jones: Evidence for a possible black hole remnant in the Type IIL Supernova 1979C . In: New Astronomy . tape 16 , no. 3 , April 2011, p. 187–190 , doi : 10.1016 / j.newast.2010.09.004 .
  3. ↑ SN1979C - The Open Supernova Catalog. Retrieved May 1, 2020 (American English).

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