--- title: "Hubble Just Watched a Star Explode In a Massive Supernova" description: "NASA's Hubble Space Telescope just spotted a brief, but extremely intense event: a star self-detonating star some 70 million light-years away." date: "2020-10-01" modified: "2020-10-01" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/hubble-star-explode-supernova" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "hubble" - "hubble constant" - "NASA" - "supernova" - "the digest" - "white dwarf" --- # Hubble Just Watched a Star Explode In a Massive Supernova ![NASA's Hubble Space Telescope just spotted a brief, but extremely intense event: a star self-detonating star some 70 million light-years away.]() *\Image: ESA\* ## Fade Away NASA's Hubble Space Telescope [just spotted]() a brief and intense event: a detonating star in a distant galaxy. Thanks to a series of images taken by the telescope, we get to watch the event unfurl over time. https://youtu.be/GQ13j55P3sE The star, SN 2018gv, is located in the spiral galaxy NGC 2525, some 70 million light-years away. Astronomers first started observing it because they were using the star as a way to measure the expansion rate of the universe. The time lapse spans about a year and shows the star first appearing as one of the brightest stars in the galaxy's outer edges, then quickly fading almost completely out of sight. ## Going Supernova The star, a white dwarf, was once accompanied by a second star, forming a close [binary system](), from which it accreted material over time. It then started to heat up, ballooned in size, and effectively transformed itself into a massive atomic bomb, exploding in a type Ia supernova. "No Earthly fireworks display can compete with this supernova, captured in its fading glory by the Hubble Space Telescope," Nobel Laureate Adam Riess of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) said in a [ESA statement](). Astronomers use these events as a way to measure how fast the universe is expanding around us, otherwise known as the [Hubble constant](). Over time, thanks to close to 30 years of operation, the Hubble telescope has helped researchers hone in on this constant, allowing us to gather tantalizing hints about the origin story of our universe. **READ MORE:** [Hubble watches exploding star fade into oblivion]() \[ESA\] **More on supernovae:** *[Scientists: Earth Moving Through Radioactive Debris of Exploded Stars]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()