iPTF14atg is a type-Ia supernova discovered on 3 May 2015. The supernova is located in galaxy IC 831, some 300 Mly (92 Mpc) distant.[1] The supernova is thought to have ignited on May 2 or 3.[2] The supernova's shockwave slammed into a companion star, shocking it into producing an ultraviolet pulse.[3] The companion star that was hit is suspected to be a red giant star.^{[citation needed]} This detection of the UV signal represents the first time the collision event of a supernova shockwave upon a companion star has been detected.[4] The supernova was discovered by the Intermediate Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF), a successor to the earlier Palomar Transient Factory, and based at the Palomar Observatory in California. The data was processed by collaborators in Europe, that lead to the supernova discovery.[3]

This single-degenerate white dwarf with normal star binary system represents one of two mechanisms for producing a type-Ia supernova, the other being double-degenerate two white dwarf binary stars.[1][4]

Further reading

• Cao, Yi; Kulkarni, S. R; Howell, D. Andrew; Gal-Yam, Avishay; Kasliwal, Mansi M; Valenti, Stefano; Johansson, J; Amanullah, R; Goobar, A; Sollerman, J; Taddia, F; Horesh, Assaf; Sagiv, Ilan; Cenko, S. Bradley; Nugent, Peter E; Arcavi, Iair; Surace, Jason; Woźniak, P. R; Moody, Daniela I; Rebbapragada, Umaa D; Bue, Brian D; Gehrels, Neil (2015). "A strong ultraviolet pulse from a newborn type Ia supernova". Nature. 521 (7552): 328–31. arXiv:1505.05158. Bibcode:2015Natur.521..328C. doi:10.1038/nature14440. PMID 25993962. S2CID 4462325.

References

External links

• Light curves on the Open Supernova Catalog
• Astronomy Now magazine, "Supernova observed colliding with its companion star", 20 May 2015
• Nature World News, "Rare Supernova Sheds Light on its Mysterious Origins", Jenna Iacurci, 21 May 2015

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