TNRTB Archive – Retained for reference information
A new observational technique promises to find more supernova remnants—removing a prominent argument some have used to support a young (around 6000-year-old) cosmos. Many stars “die” in a supernova, a spectacular explosion in which most of the star is ejected into space and the remaining material collapses to become a neutron star or black hole. By observing other galaxies, astronomers estimate how many supernovae have occurred in the roughly 10-billion-year history of the Milky Way Galaxy and how many of those remnants should be visible from Earth. This estimate greatly exceeds the number currently detected by their radio emissions; therefore some use this discrepancy to argue that the universe is only a few thousand years old. However, a new technique that observes emissions from hydrogen will close that gap significantly by finding supernova remnants that don’t give off radio emissions. Instead of providing evidence for a young cosmos, the new technique will bolster scientists’ understanding of star formation and, in turn, affirm RTB’s cosmic creation model.
Bon-Chul Koo, Ji-hyun Kang, and C. J. Salter, “A ‘Missing’ Supernova Remnant Revealed by the 21 cm Line of Atomic Hydrogen,” Astrophysical Journal 643 (2006): L49-52.
