--- ---  # See What Triggered the Milky Way's Most Recent Supernova  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Mar 31, 2016 2:38 PM UTC  NASA/CXC/CfA/S. Chakraborti et al.  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Mar 31, 2016 2:38 PM UTC A collision between two white dwarfs—the remnants of a small star—likely caused the most recent supernova in our galaxy, according to new research. The [study](http://arxiv.org/abs/1510.08851), which relied on data from NASA and was published in _The Astrophysical Journal_, relied on new methods for understanding supernovas. Researchers estimate that the most recent supernova occurred around 110 years in a part of the galaxy not easily visible from Earth. Researchers say that the new findings could help astronomers understand the rate at which the universe is expanding. See What Triggered the Milky Way's Most Recent Supernova ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4277710/milky-way-supernova-expansion/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4277710/milky-way-supernova-expansion/"},"headline":"See What Triggered the Milky Way's Most Recent Supernova","datePublished":"2016-03-31T14:38:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:22:09.046Z","description":"Researchers say that the new findings could help astronomers understand the rate at which the universe is expanding","url":"https://time.com/4277710/milky-way-supernova-expansion/","keywords":["Space"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1a93c7c9bc6d9bad/69888d1b196cf4139903af90/milky-way-youngest-supernova-nasa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1a93c7c9bc6d9bad/69888d1b196cf4139903af90/milky-way-youngest-supernova-nasa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"milky-way-youngest-supernova-nasa","caption":"","creditText":"NASA/CXC/CfA/S. Chakraborti et al.","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/space/","name":"Space"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4277710/milky-way-supernova-expansion/","name":"See What Triggered the Milky Way's Most Recent Supernova"}}]}] ```