Once Bersten realized that Buso had accidentally witnessed the first optical light from a normal supernova explosion, she contacted an international group of astronomers to plan and carry out additional follow-up observations over the next two months.Using the Shane 3-meter telescope at the University of California’s Lick Observatory, as well as the twin 10-meter telescopes of the W. M. Keck Observatory in Maunakea, Hawaii, Filippenko and his colleagues obtained a series of seven spectra. This allowed them to break down the supernova’s light into its constituent components, much like raindrops separate white light into all the colors of the rainbow.With the spectra, the researchers were able to conclude that SN 2016gkg was a Type IIb supernova, which occurs when a massive star that has lost most of its hydrogen shell explodes.Furthermore, by comparing the data to theoretical models, the team estimates that the mass of the star before it went supernova was about 20 times the mass of the Sun. However, they point out that the star likely lost around 75 percent of that mass to a companion star prior to the explosion.Based on all the available data, the researchers believed that Buso captured the first optical images of a supernova undergoing “shock breakout,” which occurs when a supersonic pressure wave from the star’s rebounding core slams into the gas at the star’s surface. This generates a tremendous amount of heat at the star’s surface, which causes a burst of light that rapidly brightens.The discovery of SN 2016gkg, as well as the results of the follow-up observations, will be published on February 22 in the journal Nature