iPTF14hls: The Zombie Supernova Star

Since 1954, the supernova-like star iPTF14hls appears to have erupted multiple times, and when it flared again in 2014, it refused to behave like a normal one-and-done explosion. Instead of fading out in about 100 days, it stayed active for roughly 1,000 days and surged through at least five major brightness peaks, which is why astronomers started calling it a “zombie star.”

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