This Weird Star Survived a Supernova Only to Shine Even More Brightly Than Before

When it comes to going out with style, nothing comes close to the end of a white dwarf. Ten years ago, supernova SN 2012Z was spotted in the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 1309, glowing briefly in a swan song that should, by all accounts, herald its annihilation. "Nobody was expecting to see a surviving star that was brighter. That was a real puzzle. " As unexpected as it was, the observation wasn't entirely without precedent, contributing to a growing pile of evidence that life after death might not be such an odd thing for white dwarf stars.
Image credit: NASA/CXC/M. Weiss