I thought everything was clear for type Ia supernovae: A white dwarf pulls matter from its partner in a binary star system until it has so much mass that it explodes as a supernova. Always following the same pattern and always with the same absolute brightness, which is why Type Ia supernovae are wonderful standard candles for measuring large distances in space.
But it is probably not quite that simple.
A little research has taught me that we haven't really understood the mechanism by which this type of supernova is formed. Not even all Type Ia explosions behave the same way. And the simulations of the different models are not fine enough, because otherwise our present computers would run hot themselves and become supernova.
Nature sometimes insists on not revealing some secrets yet.
But it gives us such wonderful sights as the current supernova SN2022hrs in the galaxy NGC 4647, which is about 61 million light years away from Earth. However, this does not mean that the originating star of SN2022hrs exploded 61 million years ago, because the universe is expanding, which also contributes to the current distance. Therefore, the supernova is younger.
It was discovered by Koichi Itagaki, who shows his pictures of SN2022hrs on his homepage
http://www.k-itagaki.jp. According to the measurements on the site of Purdue University (
https://www.rochesterastronomy.org/sn2022/sn2022hrs.html) it had a brightness of 12.6 on April 27, 2022, when my picture was taken.
Clouds have been announced for the near future. Let's see if we can follow the development in the coming weeks.
Who does not like to watch the universe when it presents its secrets?
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