Word: woosley
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...from supernovas is expected to peak quickly and then decline. But 1987A's brightness rose, then leveled off, then increased again, peaking around May 22, when it was easily visible to the naked eye. Since then it has been gradually dimming. One possible explanation was proposed by Astronomer Stan Woosley of the University of California at Santa Cruz. He suggests that the decay of radioactive elements within 1987A's cloud of debris is now generating the light. If he is right, gamma-ray emissions from decaying cobalt 56 should start showing up this summer. Concedes Woosley...
Some astronomers are in less of a hurry, figuring that the best is yet to come. Says Woosley: "Once the photosphere ((the supernova's luminous surface layer)) is gone, that's when it gets interesting." When that shell thins out, months or years from now, astronomers will be able to look inside and "see" the newly born, rapidly spinning neutron star, but with a radio telescope rather than the optical kind...
What does it all mean? "There will be as many notions of what's going on as there are astronomers," says Woosley. "It's what you might call organized scientific chaos. When it's all over, we'll have a better idea of what causes a supernova, but the one rule now is that you shouldn't trust the theoreticians. Expect the unexpected...
...star, began spewing out over a vast region of space, where they will form clouds of gas and dust that can coalesce into new stars and planets. Indeed, most of the elements abundant on earth today, except hydrogen, were cooked up in some star that became a supernova. Says Woosley: "The calcium in our bones, the iron in hemoglobin and the oxygen we all breathe came from explosions like this...
...chance that they might finally be able to pinpoint a specific progenitor star, which could finally confirm or recast their theories about how supernovas explode, has astronomers beside themselves with excitement. "It's like Christmas," says Woosley. "We've been waiting for this for 383 years." Agrees Kirshner: "Everyone in the field has been calling each other up, partly for scientific reasons and partly for sheer pleasure. It's like when someone has a baby -- it's a great event, and you just want to talk...