00:05Supernovas, or when stars explode, are massively energetic events that have the ability to
00:09change the very galaxies in which they reside.
00:12But now experts say they've discovered an explosion that's even bigger, to the tune
00:16of 10 times a supernova.
00:18According to Science Alert, certain heavy elements are thought to only have been created
00:21through the merger of two massive neutron stars, called a kilonova.
00:25But in the Milky Way's halo, there is a star called SMSS J2003-1142.
00:31Within that star, there are some of these heavy elements.
00:33But now scientists theorize they weren't produced by two neutron stars colliding, but
00:37rather by the collapse of a fast-rotating star with an extreme magnetic field, oh, and about
00:4225 times the mass of the sun.
00:44They're calling the event a magnetorotational hypernova, and it could explain how these
00:49heavy elements smashed into existence earlier than previously thought possible.
00:52So why is star SMSS important?
00:55Well, based on levels of other elements, scientists can tell it's chemically pretty primitive,
00:59meaning it should be too young to have the heavy elements produced by a neutron star merger.
01:03So they must have come from its parent star during a hyperexplosive, magnetorotational hypernova.
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