A strange cosmic explosion that surprised scientists in 2018 turned out to be even stranger than thought. It's about
Polarization analysis helped scientists determinestrange shape AT2018cow. The light from this explosion was measured using the Liverpool Telescope, whose main mirror is only 2 m in diameter. Astronomers used the data to create a 3D model of the explosion. And polarization helped them reconstruct FBOT as if it had been observed with a huge telescope. So they realized that its shape was flat and not spherical.
June 16, 2018 strange cosmic explosiona shape called the Cow exploded in the constellation Hercules, about 200 million light years away. Scientists are still not sure what caused the explosion. Image credit: Raffaella Margutti/Northwestern University
Since the opening of AT2018cow in 2018year, astronomers observed only four other similar transients. As a result, very little is known about what such explosions are or what causes them. But one thing is clear: they do not behave like typical supernovae, the most common type of cosmic explosion.
“FBOT are really bright!Brighter than some supernovae, but they appear suddenly and then their brightness decreases. Unlike ordinary supernovae, we do not observe radioactive elements that provide brightness, so the energy must come from somewhere else,” the scientists conclude.
Scientists were especially interested in the strong surgepolarization. On the first night of observations in 2018, it was 7%. In the case of supernovae, astronomers have not previously observed such a high level of polarization or polarization that developed so quickly.
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Cover: AT2018cow illustration
Image courtesy of Phil Drury, University of Sheffield