It is important to observe the stars a few hours or days after a supernova explosion, and this is now possible with the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) telescope. This is followed up by detailed observations using the Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) situated on the island of La Palma via a new follow-up programme headed by the Nordic countries. The programme aims to capture these short-lived phenomena, and it is called NUTS – the NOT Unbiased Transient Survey.

Supernovae are the key to understanding the chemical development of the universe and the formation of the stars. There are still many unanswered questions about these cosmic lighthouses, which in the course of a few weeks transmit more energy than the Sun’s energy production throughout its lifetime. One of the questions is about the precise circumstances that cause a star to explode.

Discovering supernovae at such an early stage of their development is now possible for the first time in the ASAS-SN project, which is based at the Cerro Tololo Observatory in Chile and the Haleakala Observatory in Hawaii. Using these telescopes, it is possible to survey the entire sky every second night, and this provides fantastic opportunities for finding supernovae at a very early stage, and getting the message in time to carry out detailed observations with other telescopes shortly after the discovery.

It will be possible to calculate backwards using previous observations of the development of the light curves of the supernovae and thereby determine more accurately than previously possible which type of stars exploded – particularly the diameter of the stars.

The ideal situation would be to monitor the star in the hours preceding the observation itself, and this can actually be done in some cases using an indirect technique called flash spectroscopy.

The main observation target is a type Ia supernova, where matter is transferred from one star to another. A white dwarf occurs until its mass becomes so large that it collapses and subsequently explodes.

Since May 2016, it has been possible to cover the entire sky every night using the ASAS-SN telescopes, but back-up options are lacking when the weather conditions are poor at one of the observation points. The grant also includes a supplement to the equipment that has already been installed. Part of the grant will be used to construct an extra unit with four telescopes at Cerro Tololo. Once completed, the system will consist of sixteen telescopes based at four locations around the world, and this will make it possible to cover the entire sky every night.

The grant covers the salary for a PhD student for a three-year period, as well as expenses for equipment, travel, publications, etc.