Level 1 — Absolute Beginner
A star can explode at the end of its life. This is called a supernova.
Astronomers found something new in the sky. Two stars that were partners both exploded.
One explosion made the Jellyfish Nebula. The other made a nearby cloud of gas.
Scientists used a space telescope called Fermi to study this. They watched the sky for sixteen years.
- astronomer
- a scientist who studies stars, planets, and space
- supernova
- a huge explosion that happens when a star dies
- nebula
- a large cloud of gas and dust in space
- companion
- a partner or friend who is often together with someone
- telescope
- a tool used to see faraway objects in space
- gas
- a substance, like air, that has no fixed shape
- explosion
- a sudden, violent burst of energy
- space
- the huge area outside Earth where stars and planets exist
Level 2 — Elementary
Astronomers have confirmed something never seen before: two stars that once orbited each other as companions both exploded as supernovae.
The evidence comes from two supernova remnants in the same part of the sky, the well known Jellyfish Nebula, also called IC 443, and a newly identified remnant named G189.6+3.3.
The Jellyfish Nebula sits in the constellation Gemini, about five thousand light years from Earth, and the parent star of the second remnant is thought to have exploded tens of thousands of years before the explosion that formed the Jellyfish Nebula.
Researchers built their case using sixteen years of gamma ray data from NASA's Fermi space telescope, along with observations in X-ray, infrared, ultraviolet, and radio light from about six different observatories.
- orbit
- to travel in a circular path around another object
- remnant
- what remains after most of something has disappeared
- constellation
- a group of stars that forms a recognized pattern
- light year
- the distance light travels in one year, used to measure space distances
- parent star
- the original star that later explodes into a remnant
- gamma ray
- a very high energy form of light
- observatory
- a place equipped with telescopes for studying space
- evidence
- facts or information that help prove something is true
Level 3 — Intermediate
For the first time, astronomers have confirmed that two supernova remnants occupying the same region of sky, the Jellyfish Nebula, formally designated IC 443, and a newly identified remnant labeled G189.6+3.3, originated from stars that were once gravitationally bound companions.
The discovery represents the first known candidate binary system in which both member stars are confirmed to have undergone supernova explosions, a milestone in understanding how paired stars evolve and die.
Located roughly five thousand light years away in the constellation Gemini, the Jellyfish Nebula's companion star, whose remnant became G189.6+3.3, is estimated to have exploded somewhere between twenty thousand and one hundred thousand years before its partner met the same fate.
The finding rests on sixteen years of accumulated gamma ray data from NASA's Fermi space telescope, corroborated by multiwavelength observations spanning X-ray, infrared, ultraviolet, and radio light gathered from roughly half a dozen observatories, alongside simulations of one million binary star systems.
- originate
- to come from a particular source or starting point
- gravitationally bound
- held together by the force of gravity
- candidate
- something being considered as a possible example or fit
- milestone
- a significant event or stage in a process
- estimate
- to roughly calculate or judge the value of something
- fate
- the eventual outcome or end that something experiences
- corroborate
- to confirm or support with additional evidence
- multiwavelength
- involving observations across several types of light or radiation
Level 4 — Advanced
For the first time, astronomers have substantiated that two supernova remnants occupying the same celestial neighborhood, the Jellyfish Nebula, formally cataloged as IC 443, and a newly identified remnant designated G189.6+3.3, originated from stars that had once been gravitationally bound companions.
The finding constitutes the first known candidate binary system in which both constituent stars are confirmed to have undergone supernova detonation, a milestone bearing directly on theoretical models of how paired stars evolve toward their terminal fates.
Situated roughly five thousand light years distant within the constellation Gemini, the companion star whose remnant became G189.6+3.3 is estimated to have detonated somewhere between twenty thousand and one hundred thousand years prior to its partner's own demise.
The conclusion rests on sixteen years of accumulated gamma ray data from NASA's Fermi space telescope, corroborated by multiwavelength observations spanning X-ray, infrared, ultraviolet, and radio emissions gathered across roughly half a dozen observatories, together with simulations of one million binary star systems yielding odds against chance alignment of less than one in a thousand.
- substantiate
- to provide evidence to support or prove a claim
- celestial
- relating to the sky or outer space
- constituent
- being a part of a larger whole
- detonation
- a violent explosion
- terminal
- relating to or forming the end or final stage of something
- demise
- the end or death of something
- emission
- something, such as light or energy, that is given off or released
- alignment
- the arrangement of objects in a straight line or correct relative position
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