Observations from NASA's Chandra X-ray observatory of the latest, and largest, stellar explosion ever recorded indicate that a similar explosion may go off in our galaxy, Milky Way.

Astronomers say the newest star to explode, SN 2006gy, was massive, about 150 times bigger than our sun. The light and sound show was so immense that it outshone its own galaxy, NGC 1260, home to some of the oldest known stars in the universe.

What makes astronomers believe a similar phenomenon is waiting to happen in the Milky Way was the huge energy loss suffered by SN 2006gy prior to explosion, something that is seen with the Eta Carinae as well. And while the SN 2006gy is some 240 million light years away, the Eta Carinae is virtually next door, just 7500 light years away from us.

Supernovas - an exploding star - happen when enormous stars have exhausted their fuel and crumble under the weight of their own gravity. But the SN 2006gy's explosion was different, and could point to how the early stars in the universe ended their lives, spraying their innards across space.

Image: An artist's illustration of how SN 2006gy ended its life.
Photograph courtesy: NASA