Word: kirshners
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Although supernovae are said to "explode," in reality they start with a collapse, Kirshner points out. The inside of the star collapses to make what is also called a "neutron star" or "black hole" and this heats and eventually blows off the star's outer shells, thus spreading newly created substances throughout the universe...
...Kirshner says another use for supernovae data is as a "yardstick for measuring the geometry of space." As they explode, supernovae are the brightest stars in the universe. By measuring its chemical and physical characteristics from its emitted light spectra, one can check to see if the universe is still expanding and at what rate, he says...
...Kirshner also says places where supernovae have probably formed "might be the key to understanding what strong gravity really does," since explosion remnants are some of the most massive bodies in the universe...
Recent advances in technology have made observation for astronomers like Kirshner more effective. To take pictures of the light spectra of a supernova "it used to be photographic plates, but now we're using CCD's [Charge Couple Devise] that are the same that are in a home video camera." He says the CCD's are extremely sensitive to light and so are of immense use in detecting distant remnants...
Here at the CFA, where Kirshner has his office, researchers are mostly concerned with analyzing data picked up from tools like the CCD and the telescopes used in Chile, Kirshner says...