Malta observatory records exploding star, 21 million light years away

A star whose life ended in a cataclysmic explosion has been recorded by the recently installed National Astronomical Observatory in Gozo.

The star lies in the so-called Pinwheel Galaxy (M101) which lies around 21 million light years away.

“This means that the event actually happened 21 million years ago, the light of the explosion having travelled across the universe since that time until it finally reached us,” said Prof. Joseph Caruana, from the University of Malta’s Department of Physics and Institute of Space Sciences and Astronomy.

The event in question is known as a Type II supernova. This occurs when a massive star – several times more massive than our sun – is unable to sustain nuclear fusion any further, thus undergoing a rapid collapse that ends with a catastrophic explosion.

The supernova, dubbed SN 2023ixf, was reported on the 19 May by Koichi Itagaki. A notification system for astronomers around the world allows them to follow up with further observations.

“Yesterday, some amongst the amateur astronomy community in Malta – the Astronomical Society of Malta – were already discussing this object with us,” said Caruana, who recorded the image throughout the night of Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 May, remarking that it was quite exciting to witness such an event just a few days after the observatory in Gozo had started operating.

“When you look at the image, the supernova looks just like a tiny dot amongst many others. But that tiny dot represents an extremely violent event whose light has travelled an immense distance. It really gives you pause.”

Astronomers around the world – both professional and amateur – will be turning their telescopes to this object over the coming days. Observations of such events often involve collaboration between professional and amateur astronomers.