Celestial Explosions: Classification of Supernovae from Remnants

Supernovae are the explosion of stars and are extremely bright objects in the sky even compared to entire galaxies. Generally, supernovae are classified into one of two main groups based on the explosion mechanism of the progenitor star: the accretion of mass onto a white dwarf causing a thermonuclear explosion (Type I) or the core collapse of a star more massive than our Sun (Type II). Currently, a supernova must be observed in order for it to be classified, and despite being very bright, these explosions only last for a small period of time. Supernova remnants (SNRs) are the ejected material of supernovae and remain long after the initial explosion of a star occurs. By analyzing the emission from SNRs of well-studied and classified supernovae, we hope to determine if there is a relationship between the geometry of the radio emission of SNRs and the explosion mechanism, which would then allow for classification of the supernova. In the future, this same methodology could be applied to other wavelengths as well. If specific trends were determined, a supernova would be able to be classified even if the explosion was not observed and only its remnant remains.