By: TOP500 Team

As the yardstick against which outer space is measured, type Ia supernovae are famous for consistency, yet new observations suggest their origins may not be so uniform. Using theoretical calculations and National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) supercomputer simulations, astronomers have for the first time observed a flash of light signaling a supernova collision. This discovery points them to the supernova’s home star system and implies there could be two distinct types of Ia supernova.

Type Ia supernovae are significant due to the metric they provide. Their luminosity functions as a constant brightness against which to measure other lights, much like viewing a 100-Watt light bulb on your porch and then from a neighbor’s house across the lake. This “standardizable candle” helps scientists calculate cosmological distances.

“By calibrating the relative brightness of Type Ia supernovae, astronomers use them to discover the acceleration of the universe. But if we want to push further and constrain the detailed properties of the dark energy driving acceleration, we need more accurate measurements," says Daniel Kasen, associate professor of astronomy and physics at the UC Berkeley Astronomy department. "If we don’t know where Type Ia supernovae come from, we can’t be totally confident that our cosmological measurements are correct.”

Read the full article on ISGTW.