There are a lot of ways for dead stars to blow their tops. Astronomers discovered this explosive diversity when they assessed 3,628 exploding white dwarfs during a next-generation sky survey conducted using the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) between March 2018 and December 2020.
That means that this dataset of nearby supernovas is several times larger than previous similar samples. It is a crucial development in our understanding of the lifecycles of stars with masses similar to that of the sun, which create white dwarfs when they die. A better understanding of type Ia supernovas could help solve the mystery of dark energy — the strange force that is causing the universe to expand at accelerating rates.
That's because, for three decades, these exploding stellar remnants have been integral to the measurement of cosmic distances. Learning about their diversity could help astronomers compare these supernovas with one another, refining our understanding of dark energy.
