I'm a bit late with this post, as this supernova has been in the news a bit over the past week. In this new paper in Nature Astronomy, my colleagues and I presented a supernova that released so much energy that it seemingly had to have come from one of the most massive stars in … Continue reading An incredibly bright and massive supernova!
Publication
A tidal disruption event changes its spots
Recently I've been really interested in tidal disruption events (TDEs). These are hot, bright flares generated in the centres of galaxies as an unlucky star wanders too close to a supermassive black hole and gets shredded! Along with my collaborators, I just published this paper studying one particular TDE in detail, and trying to understand … Continue reading A tidal disruption event changes its spots
Old supernovae, new insights!
It's been a long time since my last post (changing jobs/continents is time-consuming!) but I have two almost-new papers I've been meaning to share: one recently published in ApJ letters, and the other just accepted in ApJ. The two are linked by the theme of very late-time observations of superluminous supernovae. The first paper focuses … Continue reading Old supernovae, new insights!
The most UV-bright supernova is powered by an internal engine
Earlier this year, the Gaia satellite, in the process of mapping out our Milky Way in unprecedented detail, happened to discover its first superluminous supernova (SLSN). This was a great discovery not only because it turned out to be one of the most nearby such events we've ever found, but because it was about 5 times brighter … Continue reading The most UV-bright supernova is powered by an internal engine
The brightest supernova, or an overindulgent black hole?
Last year, a very unusual transient made headlines around the world as 'the most luminous supernova ever discovered'. ASASSN-15lh was certainly incredibly bright — about double the previous record holder! However, it exhibited a number of weird properties that made it unlike any other superluminous supernova: a much higher temperature; a spectrum lacking most of the usual absorption … Continue reading The brightest supernova, or an overindulgent black hole?
Dr Matt Nicholl 