A luminous, blue progenitor system for the type Iax supernova 2012Z.

Type Iax supernovae are stellar explosions that are spectroscopically similar to some type Ia supernovae at the time of maximum light emission, except with lower ejecta velocities. They are also distinguished by lower luminosities. At late times, their spectroscopic properties diverge from those of other supernovae, but their composition (dominated by iron-group and intermediate-mass elements) suggests a physical connection to normal type Ia supernovae. Supernovae of type Iax are not rare; they occur at a rate between 5 and 30 per cent of the normal type Ia rate. The leading models for type Iax supernovae are thermonuclear explosions of accreting carbon-oxygen white dwarfs that do not completely unbind the star, implying that they are 'less successful' versions of normal type Ia supernovae, where complete stellar disruption is observed. Here we report the detection of the luminous, blue progenitor system of the type Iax SN 2012Z in deep pre-explosion imaging. The progenitor system's luminosity, colours, environment and similarity to the progenitor of the Galactic helium nova V445 Puppis suggest that SN 2012Z was the explosion of a white dwarf accreting material from a helium-star companion. Observations over the next few years, after SN 2012Z has faded, will either confirm this hypothesis or perhaps show that this supernova was actually the explosive death of a massive star.

Observing supernova 1987A with the refurbished Hubble Space Telescope.

Observations with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), conducted since 1990, now offer an unprecedented glimpse into fast astrophysical shocks in the young remnant of supernova 1987A. Comparing observations taken in 2010 with the use of the refurbished instruments on HST with data taken in 2004, just before the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph failed, we find that the Lyα and Hα lines from shock emission continue to brighten, whereas their maximum velocities continue to decrease. We observe broad, blueshifted Lyα, which we attribute to resonant scattering of photons emitted from hot spots on the equatorial ring. We also detect N v λλ1239, 1243 angstrom line emission, but only to the red of Lyα. The profiles of the N v lines differ markedly from that of Hα, suggesting that the N4+ ions are scattered and accelerated by turbulent electromagnetic fields that isotropize the ions in the collisionless shock.

Hubble's diagram and cosmic expansion.

Edwin Hubble's classic article on the expanding universe appeared in PNAS in 1929 [Hubble, E. P. (1929) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 15, 168-173]. The chief result, that a galaxy's distance is proportional to its redshift, is so well known and so deeply embedded into the language of astronomy through the Hubble diagram, the Hubble constant, Hubble's Law, and the Hubble time, that the article itself is rarely referenced. Even though Hubble's distances have a large systematic error, Hubble's velocities come chiefly from Vesto Melvin Slipher, and the interpretation in terms of the de Sitter effect is out of the mainstream of modern cosmology, this article opened the way to investigation of the expanding, evolving, and accelerating universe that engages today's burgeoning field of cosmology.

Throwing light on dark energy.

Supernova observations show that the expansion of the universe has been speeding up. This unexpected acceleration is ascribed to a dark energy that pervades space. Supernova data, combined with other observations, indicate that the universe is about 14 billion years old and is composed of about 30%matter and 70%dark energy. New observational programs can trace the history of cosmic expansion more precisely and over a larger span of time than has been done to date to learn whether the dark energy is a modern version of Einstein's cosmological constant or another form of dark energy that changes with time. Either conclusion is an enigma that points to gaps in our fundamental understanding of gravity.