Image shows radioactivity in a supernova

The high-energy X-ray observatory has created the first map of radioactive material in a supernova fragment. The results reveal how waves from the explosion are likely to destroy large amounts of dying stars.

"Stars are spherical balls of gas, so you might think that when their lives run out and they explode, that explosion would look like a uniform ball expanding with great force," said Fiona Harrison, NuStar's principal investigator at the US Institute of Technology. California, in the United States.

The first map of a fragment of a supernova made by NASA has a blue color in areas where radioactive material is present. The latest studies strongly show that the explosion spreads out, which allows the star to separate from its outer layers.