Brightest exploding stars spotted

Science | Space - Cath Harris | 09 Jun 11. Scientists have identified a new type of supernova or exploding star which is ten times brighter than any other type of stellar explosion. Astrophysicist Dr Mark Sullivan of Oxford University's Department of Physics is among researchers reporting the discovery in this week's Nature. Until now scientists have been aware of two basic types of supernova - 'Type Ia supernovae', which are thermonuclear explosions of small and very dense stars called white dwarfs - and slightly fainter 'core collapse supernovae', brought about by the deaths of very massive stars (possibly with masses up to 50-100 times that of the sun). This second type of supernova was featured in the BBC's Wonders of the Universe . The new research is published by 27 academics from Oxford, Caltech, the universities of California and Toronto, the Weizmann Institute and other leading institutions. It demonstrates the existence of a new, exceptionally bright, kind of supernova, 10 times more luminous than most Type Ia supernovae and with unique characteristics.