Скачать или смотреть Olive-Shaped Supernova SN 2024ggi: First 3D Map of a Star’s Explosion

Astronomers have just mapped the 3D shape of a supernova for the first time – and it looks more like an olive than a sphere.
In this video, we explore the dramatic death of the massive star SN 2024ggi, located about 22 million light-years away in the galaxy NGC 3621 in the constellation Hydra.
You’ll learn how the ATLAS survey first detected the explosion on April 10, 2024, and how, just 26 hours later, the Very Large Telescope in Chile zoomed in to catch the blast in its earliest moments.
We break down how a massive star normally balances gravity and radiation, what happens when that balance fails, and how the collapsing core triggers a powerful shock wave that tears the star apart.
Using a technique called spectropolarimetry, astronomers discovered that the first light from this supernova wasn’t emitted equally in all directions – instead, the initial shock was stretched along one axis, forming an elongated, olive-like shape.
You’ll see how the hydrogen-rich outer layers became visible around day 10, still aligned with the same axis as the first-day shock, revealing that the explosion kept a stable, directional structure from the very beginning.
We also look at why this rules out some existing supernova models, supports others, and what it means for our understanding of how massive stars die and seed the universe with heavy elements.
If you’re curious about supernovae, stellar evolution, and how cutting-edge telescopes are changing our view of the cosmos, this video is for you.
Like, subscribe, and turn on notifications for more deep-dive space explainers.