Space
Astronomers Just Caught a Star Exploding in Real Time
It is not every day that astronomers get a front row seat to the universe’s most violent fireworks show, but that is exactly what happened when researchers…
By Space.Fan · 2026-09-28T09:02:39.076Z
It is not every day that astronomers get a front row seat to the universe’s most violent fireworks show, but that is exactly what happened when researchers spotted a star called SN 2024iss blowing itself to bits. Usually, by the time we notice a supernova, the event is already days or even weeks old.
In this rare case, however, the team caught the explosion just 40 minutes after the initial blast. By using the high speed Zwicky Transient Facility to spot the flash and immediately swinging the Hubble Space Telescope toward it, they were able to collect the earliest ultraviolet light data ever recorded for this specific type of supernova,
according to the study published in Astrophysical Journal .
This particular star, categorized as a Type IIb supernova, was a massive object that had shed most of its outer hydrogen layer before the big finale. By peering into the ultraviolet light emitted during those first moments, the researchers could effectively see the star’s guts spilling out as it ripped apart.
The data suggests this star had been shedding material for years, a strong hint that it was likely dancing with a partner star in a binary system, rather than drifting through space alone. It is essentially like watching a messy divorce play out on a galactic scale, where the star’s environment leaves a clear footprint on how it ends.
While the team is still relying on computer models to fill in the blanks regarding the star's exact size and mass, this discovery is a huge step forward in understanding the lifecycle of massive stars. Because we usually only see these explosions long after the fact, capturing the initial trigger helps scientists test their theories about how elements are recycled back into the cosmos.
With global teamwork now making these early detections possible, researchers are eager to catch more of these cosmic flashes to figure out if this star’s behavior is the standard or just an unusual exception to the rule.