160 million years after the fact, telescope spots initial hours of supernova

PARIS – A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, a supergiant red star ended its life in a spectacular explosion known as a supernova. The light from that event took 160 million years to reach Earth where, in a stroke of luck, robot telescopes scanning the night sky happened upon it on Oct. 6, 2013. On Monday, astronomers said the chance discovery allowed them to study the earliest phase of a supernova yet -- just three hours after it erupted. "We immediately knew that what we have in hand is extremely unique," Ofer Yaron of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, lead author of a study in the journal Nature Physics, told AFP. "We managed to observe this event when (it was) very young." Scientists are keen to study the early phases of supernovae, seeking insights into the moments just before massive stars expire in such dramatic fashion.