Exiled supernovas burst in lonely cosmic explosion

Artist's depiction of an exiled supernova
(Image credit: Alex Parker/NASA/SDSS)

In what may be the saddest space story ever, three giant stars at the end of their lives — called supernovas — exploded alone in the depths of the cosmos, it was revealed in a new study this week. While normally supernovas occur in galaxies that house billions of other stars, these cosmic disruptions were notable because the stars were, for some reason, banished from their own galaxies.

The errant stars, originally discovered between 2008 and 2010, existed about 300 light years from their closest galactic neighbors.

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Stephanie Talmadge

Stephanie is an editorial assistant at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Modern Luxury Media.