Astronomers witness star's death, birth of new black hole

[Buster's Uncle]

Astronomers witness star's death, birth of new black hole
"I suspect it's much easier to make a very massive black hole if there is no supernova," said researcher Krzysztof Stanek.
UPI
By Brooks Hays   |   May 25, 2017 at 3:17 PM    

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL1sQjNsuws" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL1sQjNsuws</a>

May 25 (UPI) -- In 2015, a star tracked by astronomers since 2009, suddenly disappeared. New research suggests the star collapsed and became a black hole, but avoided the explosive violence of a supernova.

The discovery, detailed in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, could explain why many of the universe's most massive stars die without a parting explosion.

"The typical view is that a star can form a black hole only after it goes supernova," Christopher Kochanek, professor of astronomy at Ohio State University, said in a news release. "If a star can fall short of a supernova and still make a black hole, that would help to explain why we don't see supernovae from the most massive stars."


http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2017/05/25/Astronomers-witness-stars-death-birth-of-new-black-hole/5811495736267/

[Geo]

Well, that's a first for me. I thought a supernova always happened when a massive star reached the end of its "lifetime".