Astronomers marvel at 'perfect explosion,' a spherical cosmic fireball

Astronomers witness 'perfect explosion' of a spherical cosmic fireball

"It is beautiful, both aesthetically, in the simplicity of the shape, and in its physical significance," says one of the researchers, after witnessing the "astonishing" event.

Astronomers Marvel at ‘Perfect Explosion,’ a Spherical Cosmic Fireball

WASHINGTON—Astronomers have observed what might be the “perfect explosion,” a colossal and utterly spherical blast triggered by the merger of two very dense stellar remnants called neutron stars shortly before the combined entity collapsed to form a black hole. Researchers on Wednesday described for the first time the contours of the type of explosion, called a kilonova, that occurs when neutron stars merge. The rapidly expanding fireball of lum…

Astronomers marvel at 'perfect explosion' — a cosmic fireball that unleashed the luminosity of about a billion suns

Astronomers observe a colossal and utterly spherical blast triggered by the merger of two very dense stellar remnants shortly before the combined entity collapsed to form a black hole.

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‘Perfect explosion’: merger of neutron stars creates spherical cosmic blast

The explosion, called a kilonova, created a rapidly expanding fireball of luminous matter before collapsing to form a black hole

Astronomers marvel at ‘perfect explosion,’ a spherical cosmic fireball

The kilonova explosion was studied using the European Southern Observatory’s Chile-based Very Large Telescope.