Researchers reveal new data from early stages of supernova

Scientists have revealed Wednesday that they received a light from a supernova, a dying star that exploded over 20 million years ago, revealing how the burst sent elements to our solar system necessary to support life.

Weizmann Institute of Science astrophysicist Avishay Gal-Yam said: "We are actually seeing the cosmic furnace in which the heavy elements are formed, while they are being formed. We are observing it as it happens. This is really a unique opportunity,"

The findings published in the journal Nature also stated that the exploded star left behind a black hole and is located at the nearby Messier 101 galaxy.

Black holes are massive celestial objects present at the centre of nearly every giant galaxy. They are formed when a supergiant star dies and collapses on its own weight, releasing powerful jets of mass.

Its magnetic pull is so powerful that everything that comes into its range is grabbed.

When they observed it was the early stage of the explosion, according to the Reuters report.

"Perhaps we will be able in the next few years to say, not for all stars, but maybe for some of them, this star we think, we suspect, it's going to explode," Gal-Yam added.

"We suspect that after the explosion a black hole was left behind — a newly formed black hole that wasn't there before. It's the remnant of the explosion. A little bit of the mass of the star collapsed to the center and created a new black hole," Gal-Yam said.

"That will be fantastic, and then we will know to be there and prepared."

Having created a sort of fingerprint of the supernova from start to finish, Gal-Yam said it could help scientists identify impending supernovas elsewhere.