While scientists know the basics of that process, they never turn down more supernova data. No longer able to withstand the force of its own gravity, the star collapses into a superdense remnant, such as a black hole or a neutron star, blasting debris and radiation into space as it does.

This event was a type II supernova, which occurs when a massive star-at least eight times the size of our sun-runs out of fuel. The excitement stems from what the supernova actually is-and what it is destined to become. “Data collection right now is the important thing.” “I was honestly too excited to sleep,” says Yvette Cendes, an astronomer at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, who has already helped arrange multiple studies of the supernova with radio observatories. Many have spent recent days marshalling every available telescope to witness the celestial fireworks and reveling in the flood of incoming observations. Scientists are thrilled with the finding. “The discovery was made in bad weather with lots of clouds. “It took me about five minutes to confirm that it was a supernova,” says Itagaki, who has claimed 172 supernova discoveries since he picked up the hobby in 2000. At about 21 million light-years away from Earth, the new supernova, which is now formally dubbed SN 2023ixf, is the closest such explosion of the past five years and the second closest of the past 10 years, according to NASA. On May 19 seasoned supernova discoverer Koichi Itagaki spotted something strange in a spiral galaxy called M101: a bright new pinprick of light.

An amateur astronomer has spotted a once-in-a-decade supernova that scientists hope will shed light on how dying massive stars give birth to strange objects such as neutron stars and black holes.

Renegades supernova