Researchers have announced the finding of perhaps the brightest new star. The object is located on the territory of the Small Magellanic Cloud.
New formed after the death of an ancient star. In a close binary system, represented by a white dwarf and satellite, the first selects material and gains massiveness until it explodes. Next comes uncontrolled nuclear burning and a bright flash.
On the left: a new system before the eruption. Right: New system in full swing
New ones are usually fixed in visible light, but they often continue to generate X-rays. With the help of telescopes from South Africa, Australia, America and the Swift Orbital Observatory, scientists recorded a new SMCN 2016-10a in 2016. The data show that it is the brightest in its class. The Small Magellanic Cloud is 200,000 light-years distant from us and stands as the nearest satellite galaxy. New ones appear in the Milky Way about 35 pieces per year. But this is the first in the next galaxy since 2012.
The Swift Observatory allowed to observe the new during the eruption period. The UV information helped us to understand that the mass of the white dwarf had reached the theoretical maximum. Overview of the new in different wavelengths helps to display the state of matter, as if the distance between us and the object was small.
