The Controversial "Cow" Explosion

It's a supernova... It's a tidal event... It's a cow?A June 16, 2018 stellar explosion has provided astronomers with a goldmine of new information on stellar deaths. It has also provided them with a wealth of opportunities to insert cow jokes into research talks, given that its official name is AT2018cow. A long-exposure image of the SOAR telescope with overlaid illustrations of a highly magnetized neutron star (top left) and an accreting black hole (top right). Image Credit: D. Maturana & NOAO/...