Scientists Observe Inner Layers of Dying Star

Scientists saw a star die in a big explosion. It was the first time they saw inside a star as it died. This helps us learn about how stars change over time.

Stars can live for a very long time, even trillions of years. Big stars explode when they run out of fuel. This explosion is called a supernova and it is very bright.

Telescopes help us see these explosions far away. Usually, the explosions mix up the star's layers. This makes it hard to see what is inside the star.

But this time, scientists saw a special supernova. It was called 2021yfj and it was very far away. The star's outer layers were gone and the inner layers were also gone.

Scientists think big stars have layers of different things. The outside has light things and the inside has heavy things. This discovery shows that the star’s layers were like scientists thought.