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Supernovae

Two supernovae have been detected in Centaurus A. The first supernova, named SN 1986G, was discovered within the dark dust lane of the galaxy by R. Evans in 1986. It was later identified as a Type Ia supernova, which forms when a white dwarf 's mass grows large enough to ignite carbon fusion in its center, touching off a runaway thermonuclear reaction, as may happen when a white dwarf in a binary star system strips gas away from the other star. SN 1986G was used to demonstrate that the spectra of type Ia supernovae are not all identical, and that type Ia supernovae may differ in the way that they change in brightness over time.

The second supernova, designated SN 2016adj, was discovered by Backyard Observatory Supernova Search in February 2016 and was initially classified as a Type II supernova based on its H-alpha emission line. A subsequent classification found the spectrum best resembled the Type Ib core-collapse supernova 1999dn. (See Type Ib and Ic supernovae).

In addition to these supernovae, a luminous red nova, designated AT 2020nqq (type ILRT, mag. 17.8), was discovered on 27 June 2020.