1953
1954

This is an actual photograph of a star going supernova, taken by the Hubble Telescope (spacetelescope.org)

submitted ago by tspaghetti

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[–]ManSpiserIkkeDritt 574 points575 points ago

Eh, no, it's not. This is Eta Carinae, a super-massive star that is "slowly" blowing itself to pieces. It has the convection layer near the core, and the radiation layer under the surface, like all these massive stars do. That leads to a massive mass loss from the surface. Also, it rotates, and it has a disc of matter around the equator (like what has turned into planets around our Sun), which hinders the massive stellar wind in the equatorial plane. Hence, you get this shape. It may turn supernova any day, when the core has burned out all it's hydrogen.

[–]DoobieRoller 150 points151 points ago

Mostly correct... It will go supernova any day, but not because it's out of hydrogen, stars go supernova because they begin to produce iron. Iron kills stars.

[–]ararphile 38 points39 points ago

I thought that stars die when they start producing iron, not because of iron, but because this is simply the point where fusion takes away energy instead of releasing it. According to wiki Sun is 0.16% iron. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[–]PaalRyd 22 points23 points ago

You're not wrong. Its the "Iron Limit"

[–]EltaninAntenna 16 points17 points ago

Like the "Iron Sky", but with less Nazis.

[–]Antibarb 14 points15 points ago

fewer

[–]EltaninAntenna 17 points18 points ago

You know what? I'm actually aware of the difference between "less" and "fewer", I pondered both, and ultimately I chose "less"; as Nazis in this case doesn't really refer to a specific number of Nazis, but to the abstract quality of "there being Nazis in it", of which there's less in "Iron Limit".

Unless of course you're making a sly reference to "Grammar Nazis", which would be awesomely meta. Upvote for you, just in case. :)

[–]Antibarb 5 points6 points ago

You know what? After I wrote that, I thought "less Nazis" was funnier. Meta back atcha!

[–]Morbanth 6 points7 points ago

Lesson learned: less pedantry and fewer grammar Nazis make for a more enjoyable conversation.

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    [–]CompleteNumpty 1 point2 points ago

    How do you know? They made it to the moon, so they could have made it to the stars.

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      [–]skeptic7 14 points15 points ago

      The problem is iron requires additional energy to fuse into higher elements. Once all lighter elements are consumed, it stops nuclear fusion and collapses on itself and goes boom.

      Fun fact: As stars continue to form in gas clouds & die in supernovas, the universe will eventually run out of light elements needed to form new stars. No need to start maxing out your credit cards & withdraw your retirement money yet as it's going to take trillions of years

      (Not an expert, just someone interested in cosmology)

      [–]heebath 14 points15 points ago

      Relevant: 'The Last Question' by Isaac Asimov, one of my favorite, mind blowing short stories. Very short and totally worth the read if you haven't already ---> http://filer.case.edu/dts8/thelastq.htm

      [–]epsys 4 points5 points ago

      why would it collapse in on itself and go boom? Shouldn't it collapse in on itself and become a neutron star or black whole or something else? How does it go boom if all the energy-releasing material has been consumed?

      [–]graogrim 6 points7 points ago

      It's a LOT of mass collapsing, and the process of the collapse releases a great deal of energy. I guess it could be said that in a way the supernova is the "bounce" from that collapse.

      [–]FlakJackson 2 points3 points ago

      Well that's the thing, it does both. Without getting technical, when a star goes supernova its mass starts to collapse on itself, starting from the inside. Before the whole thing can collapse on itself the core compresses into neutrons, causing the collapsing mass to "bounce back" and form a sort of shock wave that blasts through the outer layers of the star, creating that "boom".

      The remnants of the core will be left over as a neutron star, a black hole or sometimes both (the remnant is initially a neutron star, but mass "falling back" onto it can cause it to form a black hole).

      [–]epsys 1 point2 points ago

      SCIENCE!!!! Now I know!!! /billnye

      [–]Vitate 7 points8 points ago

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernova#Core_collapse

      [–]skeptic7 2 points3 points ago

      AFAIK there are 4 types of supernovas depending on the star

      Ia Ib IIa IIb depending if its implosion or explosion & if hydrogen is released or not

      Edit: Apparently there are 11 types of supernovas as per Vitate's link.

      [–]Lemurrific 1 point2 points ago

      Welp, TIL the universe is screwed.

      [–]KosstAmojan 196 points197 points ago

      The star pays the iron price?

      [–]Intolight 38 points39 points ago

      It might have already gone to supernova but the light hasn't reached us yet.

      [–]ArbitraryNormal 12 points13 points ago

      If a star explodes in space and no-one is around to see it has it really happened yet?

      [–]dan_au 14 points15 points ago

      Maybe.

      [–]TassadarWS 14 points15 points ago

      Schrodingers Star

      [–]Peregrine7 5 points6 points ago

      It depends, you can define simultaneity relativistically (as we would see it, a star that we witness exploding could be judged as exploding "now") or you could estimate it (as we like to do with stars). The latter is not that useful, you can predict what you will see in the future but you can't influence it unless you go faster than the speed of light (you still can't go back in time by going faster than light, you only approach simultaneity).

      [–]jargoon 3 points4 points ago

      Not really, since information can only travel at the speed of light. From the point of view of a photon coming from that star, the moment it left the star and the moment it hit the telescope are the exact same moment.

      [–]indyK1ng 1 point2 points ago

      Relativity ... it's one hell of a drug.

      [–]Batmaners 0 points1 point ago

      So, if someone 1000LY from an exploding stars and someone 20,000LY from the same star, they both relatively see the explosion at the same time, despite the fact the star blew up 19,000 years ago to the other guys?

      I always think of it without relativity by considering your point in space as your temporal reality (when happens there is NOW everything else is past). Were you to find a new location in space (20,000LY away), that would then be your new temporal reality, despite of the time it took you to get there.

      It's all about how you perceive it. In my mind Earth has it's own temporal reality, the closest star, Alpha Centauri is 4.2 years in the past as we see it (4.2 years in the future where it is, where it sees Earth 2008). As opposed to saying everything everywhere is the present.

      [–]indyK1ng 2 points3 points ago

      The faster you go, the less time you experience. If you're going at the speed of light, you experience things simultaneously. That's what's meant by relativity, time passes relative to your speed. This is why a photon experiences the star exploding and its arrival at a planet as the same moment. We also see proof of this because particles that can only exist for fractions of a second or a second reach the Earth from Sol, our star. These particles were traveling at near the speed of light as they hit our atmosphere.

      I was just making a joke by taking the fact that time passes differently at different speeds and comparing it to the altered perceptions of a drug.

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        [–]lifeformed 0 points1 point ago

        yes

        [–]shaggorama 0 points1 point ago

        Yes.

        [–]Morbanth 0 points1 point ago

        If the light cone of an event doesn't interact with an observer, for all intents and purposes, no.

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          [–]lucasreher 1 point2 points ago

          Really, why does it do that?

          [–]KosstAmojan 8 points9 points ago

          Thermonuclear energy and extreme pressure fuse lighter elements into heavier ones. Thats how stars generate their energy. It requires more energy to fuse heavier elements. Thats why the heaviest elements that we know of are generated in minute amounts only in high energy particle colliders and are not naturally occuring. At a certain point (when iron starts to predominate) the energy and pressure is no longer sufficient to fuse the more prevalent heavy elements together to generate energy. The energy generated is what keeps the outer layers of the star from collapsing into the core; without this energy the outer layers collapse causing hypercompression of the star. This sets off a runaway chain reaction, generating massive amounts of energy, which blasts off the surface of the star in a supernova, leaving only the core.

          [–][deleted] 3 points4 points ago

          It's worth pointing out that this only applies to stars of a certain size, those that pass the Chandrasekhar limit (about 1.44 solar masses I believe).

          [–]Archmonduu 2 points3 points ago

          That is the limit of a white dwarfs maximum size before dying, nothign to do with supernovae I believe.

          [–]Peregrine7 5 points6 points ago

          It's interchangeable, the Chandrasekhar limit applies to supernovae and therefore whether a star forms a white dwarf post "death".

          [–]FlakJackson 2 points3 points ago

          Actually, the Chandrasekhar limit has quite a bit to do with supernovae. For example, one of the standard candles we use to determine distance in the universe is a Type 1a supernova, because each one unfailingly displays a consistent luminosity.

          Basically, a Type 1a supernova occurs when a white dwarf exceeds the Chandrasekhar limit. This usually occurs in binary star systems where the white dwarf steals matter from its companion star. Over time, this accretion will push the white dwarf's mass over the Chandrasekhar limit, causing a supernova within seconds.

          Since these supernovas occur when a star reaches a very exact mass, they emit a consistent peak luminosity, which is why they are so reliable in determining astronomic distances.

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            [–]xoscarxx 0 points1 point ago

            Iron helps us play!

            [–]Dugarito 1 point2 points ago

            By what process do they produce iron?

            [–]reddit_user13 5 points6 points ago

            Nuclear Fusion.

            [–]KariasMike 0 points1 point ago

            Some reason that comment made me think of the Little Doctor from Ender's Game...

            [–]gimpsamurai 0 points1 point ago

            And first born iron kills gods.

            [–]jsandler18 0 points1 point ago

            Then, once it explodes, it can make the good stuff, like gold and platinum.

            [–]khrak 0 points1 point ago

            Well, technically, it may have gone supernova as long as 8,000 years ago.

            [–]stortz 0 points1 point ago

            almost correct, they go into supernova when they try to fuse the iron. The star don't have the power to fuse it (since iron absorbs too much energy) and it releases it in a big explosion.

            [–]sniffles_snort 0 points1 point ago

            And when stars do go supernova it's not like the death star blowing up, right? It happens over a lot of time.

            Is that right?

            [–]iwillforgetmyusernam 0 points1 point ago

            Is Iron Man aware of this?

            [–]thatsCaptainplanet2u 0 points1 point ago

            Mostly correct, chances are it has already gone supernova but the light has not yet reached us from that event.

            [–]aeon_orion 0 points1 point ago

            It wont go supernova any day...it already has!

            [–]Iloldalot 0 points1 point ago

            for all we know, it could have already gone super-nova.

            [–]ManSpiserIkkeDritt 0 points1 point ago

            Well, yes, but the lack of hydrogen to burn starts it all. In fact, in these super-massive stars, the time it takes for the star to exhaust helium and all the other elements up to where fusion no longer produces excess energy (it takes more energy to merge iron into heavier elements, than the fusion produces) is relatively short. Eta Carinae was observed to have an eruption around 1843, and that's probably the source of the shell in this picture.

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              [–]NersonMandera 15 points16 points ago

              This is why I read the comments before I give an immidiate upvote. Thank you, sir.

              [–][deleted] ago

              [deleted]

              [–]NersonMandera 6 points7 points ago

              Yes, it is very mind-blowing. I've also seen this sort of thing many times. A factual title would be much appreciated in the given context.

              [–]firerapid 2 points3 points ago

              Do you know how come it's slowly blowing up as opposed to blowing up all at once?

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                [–]BrosephDudeson 1 point2 points ago

                Unfortunately, it seems like 90% of the time I give an immediate and enthusiastic upvote I learn that the headline is incorrect after visiting the comments.

                [–]Jigsus 3 points4 points ago

                Are you telling us that this shape is somewhat stable?

                [–]Turaton 6 points7 points ago

                This shape is the Homunculus Nebula. Eta Carinae itself is in the middle.

                [–]Sleekery 1 point2 points ago

                No, not really. It's material blown off the central star. It's a single event. It's expanding into the interstellar medium (material between the stars). Were the central star not to supernova soon, it would expand and slowly dissipate and integrate into the interstellar medium. However, there's a good chance that Eta Carinae will supernova fairly soon (astronomically) and the supernova blast wave will hit the planetary nebula probably making an even cooler picture.

                -- Astronomy grad student.

                [–]Phyics_Son 0 points1 point ago

                I was going to say the same thing...wtf is with people who are so matter of fact, but dont know their shit?

                [–]Shin-LaC 1 point2 points ago

                Also, knowing Hubble it's probably fake color all the way.

                [–]johnny5ive 0 points1 point ago

                I'm laughing at the fact that you made it all the way through that rather intelligent response and then just fucked up that last "it's".

                [–]LegendaryHero 0 points1 point ago

                Still, it's fucking awesome.. The fact that it's real is all I need to care, haha.

                [–]simjanes2k 1 point2 points ago

                First World Problems: I knew that at first glance, but was not the first to say so, and thusly will not receive the made-up internet points.

                [–]RealityRush 0 points1 point ago

                Wait, so how long would it take for it to super nova? A couple years or something?

                [–]boredtoday -1 points0 points ago

                yes, yes, i know some of these words.

                [–]Thenerf 0 points1 point ago

                I was about to say, if we had an image of a nova I would have heard about it well before I got onto reddit.

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                  [–]defenestr8 59 points60 points ago

                  This star is Eta Carinae. I am actually doing research on this star with the professor that did this image (I think this is one of his). I actually look at images like this one from the HRC on a daily basis. This is probably going to be buried because I am posting this so late, but here it goes.

                  Eta Carinae is what is the textbook example of what is known as a supernova impostor. It basically went through a supernova event, but the star is still there. Anyways, as it turns out, this star has a 30 solar mass companion star which has a highly eccentric orbit. Every ~5.5 years, the companion star passes through the upper atmosphere of the main star, coming out the other end of the star, sending shock waves through the main star. This is observed as a brightening of the star and is known as an event. It itself is 120 solar masses, and it the largest star in our galaxy. It is at what's called the Eddington Limit. The star is putting out so much light, it is almost pushing itself apart from photon pressure. Someone mentioned on here it is hydrogen burning. This is not true, it is past that point in its lifecycle. Someone mentioned planets and life on here. Eta probably never had any planets. Most of the stuff that was in the disk that formed the system went into making Eta and her companion. This star is quite young on cosmological time scales so even if there was material to make planets, there wouldn't be enough time to make them let alone there not being enough material. There's no real reason for Eta to have planets, let alone life.

                  Personally, I think it already has gone supernova, but at 7500 light years, the light is still on its way. It should be quite a show when it finally goes.

                  [–]JackBlacket 0 points1 point ago

                  Interesting, sounds like a good job. How long does this process usually take?

                  [–]Free_Your_Willy 0 points1 point ago

                  do you why the star looks like it is exploding from the poles and not in a giant ball?

                  [–]Tron22 1 point2 points ago

                  To the top with you.

                  [–]toastworks 0 points1 point ago

                  When it does go supernova, are we going to see any kind of noticeable difference in the night sky with the naked eye?

                  [–]Sleekery 0 points1 point ago

                  Fellow astronomy student here. Can you like to the journal article that talks about:

                  Every ~5.5 years, the companion star passes through the upper atmosphere of the main star, coming out the other end of the star, sending shock waves through the main star.

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                    [–]Got_Deik 25 points26 points ago

                    Now witness the power of this fully armed and operational Hubble Telescope!

                    [–][deleted] 30 points31 points ago

                    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eta_Carinae

                    [–]davegod 5 points6 points ago

                    Is this an actual photograph, in the sense of what most people think of a photo, or is it other input converted into a photo-like image?

                    Er, that was kind of gibberish, I mean have they done things like converted invisible spectrum such as IR/UV/radiation etc and converted it into visible light?

                    I'm not trying to suggest that would make it any less awesome, or that it would be "fake" or whatever, but I like to understand what I am looking at.

                    [–]Stargrazer82301 5 points6 points ago

                    Given what it's showing, this looks like a Hubble ACS image, so would include UV, optical, and IR light.

                    To most intents & purposes, astronomical photographs never represent exactly what the human eye would see, but they're all still photographs; anything that's an image of captured light is a photograph.

                    Even when an astronomical image is taken in the visible part of the spectrum, it'll still look different to how we would see it, as the camera will have a different "response function" (how sensitive it is to different parts of the spectrum) to that of the human eye. It'll be seeingthe visible part of the spectrum in an entirely manner to how our eyes do.

                    There'd be basically no scientific value to an astronomical camera that precisely mimicked the response function of the eye. Although I suppose you could use a Fourier Transform Spectrometer with a metric shedload of pixels to do so.

                    Source: I'm a research astronomer.

                    [–]MegaFoch 0 points1 point ago

                    From somebody with no experience whatsoever:

                    What would a "normal" photo look like from the space?

                    [–]TheOmni 2 points3 points ago

                    This image consists of ultraviolet and visible light images from the High Resolution Channel of Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys.

                    Source.

                    [–]ophello 0 points1 point ago

                    It's probably visible in the "normal" spectrum. It's a giant glowing gas ball.

                    [–]CptOblivion -1 points0 points ago

                    The original is probably black and white, but a photograph.

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                      [–]evilarhan 36 points37 points ago

                      Look, if you're going to post stuff from Cracked.com, at least have the decency to link the whole article. It's actually a good read, and you give them some well-deserved traffic.

                      EDIT: Source article, where the author (John Cheese) correctly says that it is a star on the verge of going supernova.

                      [–]reddit_user13 12 points13 points ago

                      TIL Cracked is a source of astrophysics info.

                      [–]markevens 0 points1 point ago

                      A lot of Cracked articles really have good research behind them, no matter the humor of the article.

                      [–]archonemis 0 points1 point ago

                      John Cleese!

                      Aw fuck.

                      Nevermind.

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                        [–]atypicaldude 16 points17 points ago

                        That's........awesome. It looks like a cell dividing.

                        [–]Guyinapeacoat 8 points9 points ago

                        death... looking like life. Weird how things can work out that way.

                        [–]treycook 3 points4 points ago

                        Science, bitch!

                        [–]atypicaldude 0 points1 point ago

                        Science, bitch indeed sir!

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                          [–]emailbitesmyass 1 point2 points ago

                          Also, electron orbitals. s2 p3 , kinda. (It's been a long time since chemistry.)

                          [–]theycallthataringjug 8 points9 points ago

                          I'm trying so hard to wrap my head around how massive that must be...

                          [–]wesb2 13 points14 points ago

                          Here is a fun little game that can help a bit with that!

                          [–]divinemachine 2 points3 points ago

                          I spent 2 hours on this. Thank you.

                          [–]achshar 7 points8 points ago

                          Your comment : 9:48

                          Parent comment: 8:38

                          9:48-8:38 = 1:10

                          [–]archonemis 2 points3 points ago

                          Yeah, but he was really high, so . . .

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                            [–]ill_B_In_MyBunk 0 points1 point ago

                            Well that made me feel fucking small.

                            [–]Qzy 1 point2 points ago

                            I was expecting a "your mom" on the edge of the scrollbar...

                            [–]reddit_user13 0 points1 point ago

                            Best "Powers of 10" ever!

                            [–]theycallthataringjug 0 points1 point ago

                            Aaaand there goes my satruday.

                            [–]Sleekery 1 point2 points ago

                            The star itself is 100 times the mass of the Sun.

                            [–]pordante 12 points13 points ago

                            Neat!

                            [–]Siarles 8 points9 points ago

                            And now I have an image in my head of the Hubble saying "Neat!" in John DiMaggio's voice just before snapping this photo.

                            [–]sheffy4 3 points4 points ago

                            The power of this terrifying, and fascinating.

                            [–]webtwopointno 2 points3 points ago

                            /r/spaceporn

                            [–]DAVVAD 1 point2 points ago

                            ive been looking for a source of high res space photos like this for a while. Nasa site never has enough +1

                            [–]RelevantRoll 2 points3 points ago

                            Fake. This isn't what the Eye of Jupiter looked like.

                            [–]tittymilks 1 point2 points ago

                            So say we all.

                            [–]DW_the_Destroyer 18 points19 points ago

                            While beautiful I can't help but wonder. Whatever was living there. IF there was anything living near that star, they're gone now.

                            Can you imagine? That star probably had life like our Earth millions of light years away. Life could have existed there millions of years ago, could've existed there now. All gone in an instant without us ever knowing what could've been there. Their legacy is but a simple picture we view on computers, something so trivial to us, an image we could easily take for granted. However, for whatever could've lived there, it was all they ever had.

                            It really does make one think. I do wish that if there is an afterlife, I would be able to view all of history and all parts of the universe no matter the point in time.

                            Just wanted to share that, I am sure many of you have thought about it.

                            [–]DonnyDreamliner 34 points35 points ago

                            probably

                            Eh...

                            [–]vexom 17 points18 points ago

                            The chance of planets forming around these massive stars is remote. The intense UV radiation from the star causes the rapid photo-evaporation of any planet-forming clumps that may form in a circumstellar disk. If a planet did miraculously form, life (as we know it) would not survive on the surface due to the intense radiation.

                            [–]Sunburntmonkey 4 points5 points ago

                            Can't the radiation be dissipated by a magnetic field around the planet, or is it too much? Genuinely curious.

                            [–]Atario 1 point2 points ago

                            Not even at a sufficient distance?

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                              [–]Mackinstyle 9 points10 points ago

                              I doubt anything could have lived there for a long long time in the stage that precedes a supernova.

                              [–]whyoulittle 5 points6 points ago

                              Remember

                              [–]stortz 0 points1 point ago

                              not probably...

                              [–]Sleekery 0 points1 point ago

                              Nope. The lifetime of that star is measured in millions of years, maybe tens of millions at best. It took the Earth hundreds of millions of years to make the least of life and 4 billion years to get some higher, multicellular life.

                              Not the mention the blistering radiation that would kill any sort of life.

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                                [–]thedude213 2 points3 points ago

                                Couldn't even imagine seeing that in person, let alone hearing it. Good on you space vacuum, good on you.

                                [–]OneBigBug 1 point2 points ago

                                Couldn't even imagine seeing that in person

                                Are you in the United States (excluding Florida and Hawaii), Canada, or Europe? If so:

                                Step 1: Go outside.

                                Step 2: Look up.

                                Step 3: Success! You're seeing it in person!

                                [–]Devanismyname 3 points4 points ago

                                He means a closer view.

                                [–]OneBigBug 4 points5 points ago

                                Really?!

                                [–]Devanismyname 3 points4 points ago

                                Yup:D

                                [–]ArrogantConfusion 0 points1 point ago

                                To me, these explosions look like flames. How is it that fire occurs in an environment without oxygen? Or am I misunderstanding that whole outer space thing?

                                [–]DarkPhoenix714 2 points3 points ago

                                Stars are nuclear reactions, they fuse elements (starting with light elements like helium and hydrogen and slowly moving on to heavier elements as it runs out of hydrogen fuel) and therefore require no oxygen to burn.

                                [–]Brett42 3 points4 points ago

                                No fire, just a lot of heat.

                                [–]ArrogantConfusion 4 points5 points ago

                                Simple and to the point. I like your style and it makes sense. Thank you.

                                [–]DarkPhoenix714 2 points3 points ago

                                I'm sorry I failed you :-(. Here is the best explanation I could come up with:Well the sun isn't burning in the manner in which you are thinking. It is simply fusing elements together at an astonishing rate. The heat the sun produces is a result of the energy produced by the Nuclear reaction that keeps the sun "burning". Fires on earth are Chemical reactions and require oxygen as fuel, the suns fuel is hydrogen.

                                [–]_Jethro_ 1 point2 points ago

                                My favorite thing about supernovae isn't the occurrence itself, but what happens to the atoms inside the event. A supernova allows for the creation of elements that are atomically heavier than iron to come into existence through nuclear fusion. Only something with as much energy as a supernova can accomplish this, making it a truly rare and extraordinary event. So next time you look at an element that is further along the periodic table than Iron, say, the gold in the ring on your finger, give a special thanks to all the stars that died in the past! =)

                                Note that, as mentioned elsewhere, Eta Carinae hasn't supernova'd yet, as far as we can observe. I just wanted to mention this anyway. Soon though!

                                [–]SexualArtillery 1 point2 points ago

                                http://www.israellycool.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/artillery-fire.jpg

                                Something like this but more epic.

                                [–]LeResistance 0 points1 point ago

                                The most amazing thing about all this, is that this probably happened millions of years ago, and Hubble's lens is only now picking up the light from it.

                                [–]ophello 4 points5 points ago

                                Not that long ago. Everything that happens in our galaxy that we can see happened no later than 100,000 years ago. This particular star is about 7000 light years away. The explosion was first visible in the late 1800s.

                                Think about the distances involved before estimating the timeframe. If we see something happen in Andromeda, for example, we know it happened 2 million years ago because it's 2 million light years away. Our galaxy is only about 150,000 light years across, so...do the math.

                                [–]HarjiFangki 2 points3 points ago

                                I see you're reading Cracked too.

                                [–]Vranak 1 point2 points ago

                                Ok if this star thinks it can get away with this then I refuse to hold in any more farts for decorum's sake.

                                [–]TRAUMAjunkie[!] 1 point2 points ago

                                Can anyone shed some light on how long this process would actually take?

                                [–]std205 2 points3 points ago

                                Those are balls. This close, they always look like a star going supernova. But nope, you're looking at balls.

                                [–]darockerj 2 points3 points ago

                                "If it's anything like my old Chevy Nova, it'll light up the sky!" -Philip J. Fry

                                [–]MrKeepsItTooReal 4 points5 points ago

                                Michael Bay says, "Challenge accepted."

                                [–]Tomm0509 3 points4 points ago

                                Yeah i read cracked aswell.

                                [–]Gnork 0 points1 point ago

                                Why does it blow up in halves like that?

                                [–]achshar 1 point2 points ago

                                Someone above mentioned that is because the star spins and has matter around the equator. The matter that forms planets. And when a star explodes, the matter absorbs the explosion in the equator line and hence we see the two halves.

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                                  [–]Haust 1 point2 points ago

                                  "Eyes in the dark, one moon circles" is all I could think about. Quite the explosion, though.

                                  [–]nu0r 0 points1 point ago

                                  I wonder how many years ago that happened.

                                  [–]avagadro22 1 point2 points ago

                                  Quetion 1: Why does it form what resembles a p-orbital rather than a sphere?

                                  [–]reasonably_insane -1 points0 points ago

                                  There goes the neighborhood. Literally.

                                  [–]radherring -1 points0 points ago

                                  Put some google eyes on it and we'll talk.

                                  [–]SixWhiteLies -1 points0 points ago

                                  Well that would certainly ruin your day.

                                  [–]_OP_IS_A_PHAGGOT_ -1 points0 points ago

                                  Eh, no it's not. This is me blowing a load on OP's mom.

                                  [–]rybread761 0 points1 point ago

                                  It's cool how this resembles the one pattern of atoms around a nucleus

                                  [–][deleted] ago

                                  [deleted]

                                  [–]SovietK 0 points1 point ago

                                  Does anyone know whats the size of that thing is?

                                  [–]ophello 1 point2 points ago

                                  Not a supernova.

                                  [–]Cough_Turn 0 points1 point ago

                                  Its not a tumor?

                                  [–]old_righty 1 point2 points ago

                                  Why does it look like the Death Star exploding?

                                  [–]SomeOtherWilliam 0 points1 point ago

                                  There's something so scary about seeing this.

                                  [–]DCstroller 0 points1 point ago

                                  Anyone else see Admiral Akbar?

                                  [–]el_refrigerator 0 points1 point ago

                                  The battle station is heavily shielded and carries a firepower greater than half the star fleet. Its defenses are designed around a direct, large-scale assault. A small one-man fighter should be able to penetrate the outer defense.

                                  [–]bluenosebob 0 points1 point ago

                                  Thought the thumbnail was a guy holding a cat by its ears...

                                  [–]stuff22 0 points1 point ago

                                  Looks like a scene from a Michael Bay movie....

                                  [–]ThinkusMcGee 0 points1 point ago

                                  Fuckin' science, man. Ho-ly shit.

                                  [–]To-Wit 0 points1 point ago

                                  Look it's Neil gallagher and a landslide

                                  [–]corban123 0 points1 point ago

                                  Posted this in r/spaceporn over 24 hours ago, only 90 karma :(

                                  [–]Mustango 0 points1 point ago

                                  ... ... SEPHIROTH!

                                  [–]Nokia_Bricks 1 point2 points ago

                                  Reminds me of cells cleaving

                                  [–]Warod0 0 points1 point ago

                                  Damn nature, you scary

                                  [–]Nailpolished 1 point2 points ago

                                  This is becoming really annoying, people posting things they know will get upvotes but they also know people are too lazy to check the facts.

                                  [–]DrMustache 1 point2 points ago

                                  Anyone else look at this and go, "huh... looks almost identical to a single cell dividing." ?

                                  [–]spotted_dick 0 points1 point ago

                                  Reminds me of "forever alone " guy.

                                  [–]cshontz -1 points0 points ago

                                  lol - I feel bad for future Earth.

                                  [–]thefigpucker 0 points1 point ago

                                  EDIT : ManSpiserIkkeDritt you even sound like a geek..eh,no,it's not....LMAO !! someone beat this kid up ASAP !

                                  ;-)

                                  I had a fast supernova,it was a 1969 2dr.

                                  but seriously,this is a very cool pic,no matter what it is exactly,that shit is blowing up.

                                  Hubble FTW

                                  [–]Lokarn 0 points1 point ago

                                  Are there any true photographs of stars going hyper nova?

                                  [–]I_am_Knot 0 points1 point ago

                                  Pretty cool. Looks like a cell dividing.

                                  [–]mayonesa 0 points1 point ago

                                  Mitosis?

                                  [–]DohRayMe 0 points1 point ago

                                  More energy than Human Life will ever consume.

                                  [–]megaman368 0 points1 point ago

                                  That happened like a million years ago. Get over it.

                                  [–]Waul 0 points1 point ago

                                  Looks like a popcorn.

                                  [–]FashBug 0 points1 point ago

                                  I'd rather see a star go super saiyan, but that's just me.

                                  [–]PIurality 1 point2 points ago

                                  This is an actual photograph that op found on cracked and didn't link the article (which has 10 more amazing photos like this) http://www.cracked.com/blog/11-deep-space-photos-you-wont-believe-arent-photoshopped/

                                  [–]capmpants 0 points1 point ago

                                  On my mobile so I cannot search if anyone else said this already but.... kinda looks like Admiral Ackbar

                                  [–]Robotblockparty 0 points1 point ago

                                  Looks like two cells dividing. Awesome

                                  [–]neuromorph 0 points1 point ago

                                  All I can think of is that there will be so much gold in them thar clouds!

                                  [–]CrzdHaloman 0 points1 point ago

                                  Popcorn

                                  [–]malarial_camel 0 points1 point ago

                                  Someone's been reading Cracked....

                                  [–]biglebroski 0 points1 point ago

                                  those are balls

                                  [–]cornholioo 0 points1 point ago

                                  Thinking about how much stuff is in this picture makes my brain hurt.

                                  [–]amused_query_47 0 points1 point ago

                                  Whether this star is going supernova or not, it's still amazing that we were actually able to capture this image while it's happening. I hope we can get an image this good when it actually does go supernova.

                                  [–]Crackerpool 0 points1 point ago

                                  Looks like a giant nutsack.

                                  [–]feeling_mind 0 points1 point ago

                                  This looks a lot like that alien's head in Mars Attacks, right after he took our biggest nuke, put it in his pipe and smoked it. Or so I recall, I hain't seen it since it was in theaters.

                                  [–]dalerp 1 point2 points ago

                                  Just as I was doubting an astro-physics major, REDDIT PULLS THROUGH!

                                  [–]candeezy_mac 1 point2 points ago

                                  Does anyone have a way of approximating the volume of this star? For some reason, I'm curious about how many Earth's could fit inside of it...

                                  [–]dissonance07 0 points1 point ago

                                  So...when a star actually goes supernova, how long does that explosion actually last? I've wondered this for a long time, and never really knew where to look for that kind of an answer.

                                  [–]Drderp134 0 points1 point ago

                                  Kinda reminds me of the P orbital structure.

                                  [–]bartonski 0 points1 point ago

                                  Now, an interesting effect to watch for is in the upper left-hand quadrant of the sky where you can see the star system of Hastromil boiling away into the ultraviolet. Anyone here from Hastromil? Well, it's too late to worry about whether you left the gas on at home now!

                                  [–]feor1300 1 point2 points ago

                                  Taking pictures of stars blowing up.

                                  Mythbusters eat your hearts out!

                                  [–]Helen_Damnation 0 points1 point ago

                                  Hmmmmm... Battlestar Galactica got it wrong.

                                  [–]Iloldalot 0 points1 point ago

                                  when i clicked on the picture, i was not expecting it to be so big. i think i almost shit my pants. im still shaking, and sweating. i dont know if i have some sort of phobia related to space, but its been with me for a few years

                                  [–]BrokenDesign 0 points1 point ago

                                  Dodge this!

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