The supernova, known as SN 2006gy, believed to be about 150 times as massive as the sun - exploded into what Scientists say is the brightest stellar explosion ever recorded! A supernova is a rare and often dramatic phenomenon that involves the explosion of most of the material within a star. Supernovas can be very bright for a short time and usually release huge amounts of energy. "We are seeing a new type of explosion that has so far only existed in theory, and we believe the first stars in the universe exploded by this mechanism. It may provide a new lesson in the evolution of stars, and a star in our own galaxy may do the same thing tomorrow," reported Mario Livio, astrophysicist from the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland.

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