Researchers have linked a new-born star to its combusted astral mother using a new software system used for sky surveys which was able to capture two new cosmic explosions.
The Intermediate Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF) helped scientists find a way to perceive light from cosmic gravitational flows which would in turn give answers on how a supernova or cosmic explosion is formed.
"Pinpointing a progenitor star at exactly the same location as a Type Ib supernova was the best way to test the theories about the genesis of this type of explosion. Now we need to patiently wait for the supernova to fade away and see if the star disappears," Mansi Kasliwal , researcher from the Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science, Pasadena, Calif., told Science Codex.
The same iPTF team was also able to distinguish the first afterglow of a cosmic explosion called the gamma ray burst using the Fermi Space Telescope . This second study also used the iPTF software system by which the name of the afterglow was named iPTF13bxl.
Gamma ray bursts are blasts of pure energy which cause some of the most luminous supernovae. They represent the energy that is emitted during an astral explosion. An afterglow results after every gamma ray blast. This afterglow releases lesser wavelength radiation compared to the original outburst.
The researchers captured the new cosmic explosion mid-June this year. There was no sign of any light sources the day before they discovered it. Soon after they have detected the new-born star, images were taken using the telescopes amidst the ultra-violet and infrared wavelengths which gave them significant evidence to trace the supernova's starting point.
After the supernova had been closely examined, they concluded that it was a Type Ib, a common type of supernova, and that it was able to achieve the height of its radiance after two weeks of the original blast. The Hubble Space Telescope also aided the scientists in tracing the progenitor. Further observations will tell what type of star its astral mother was.
"The sophisticated intermediate Palomar Transient Factory software we used to identify iPTF13bxl now prepares us to locate about 10 gamma-ray bursts every year going forward. And future endeavors could help us identify other, fainter signatures, such as those accompanying the merger of binary neutron stars," said John Mulchaey, another Carnegie researcher.
Both research led by the California Institute of Technology will soon be published in the The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
