SN 2010kd: a super-luminous supernova that exploded rapidly and decayed slowly

SN 2010kd: a super-luminous supernova that exploded rapidly and decayed slowly

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Space

In News:

• Researchers at the Arayabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital recently carried out study of SN 2010kd
• ARIES is an autonomous research institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India. 

Key takeaways:

• SN 2010kd is a super-luminous supernova which ejected huge amounts of mass and Nickel during explosion.
• The amount of ejection was much more than seen in case of normal core-collapse supernovae, which indicates that the related star evolution might be different. 
• It exploded with a larger velocity but decayed slower than other similar supernovae.

Important value additions:

• Supernovae are types of energetic explosions where the core of massive stars explode, liberating huge amounts of energy.  
• These events are visible through very far away distances much beyond our own solar system. 
• Super-luminous supernovae are a special type of explosions having energy output 10 or more times higher than that of standard supernovae.