Elusive Supernova Progenitors

Abstract

Supernovae—the complete disruption of stars at the end of their lives—are among the most energetic events in the universe. But which sorts of stars give rise to supernovae? To answer this question, astronomers should ideally identify a supernova progenitor on pre-supernova images. Unfortunately, no supernova has been definitely discovered by eye in our Galaxy since 1604 A.D. Progenitors have been identified for 6 of the ∼2900 known extragalactic supernovae, but 5 of these 6 supernovae are somewhat peculiar; 2 may not be supernovae at all.

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