High-magnification deep optical view into FRB20220226B's host environment. Pan and scroll to explore the cosmic neighborhood where this star exploded.
⚡ Quick Observer Facts & Telemetry
IAU Transients DBA Core-Collapse Class Transient
On 2022/02/26, astronomers scanning the heavens flagged a sudden, violent pinpoint of light that had flared into visibility. Designated FRB20220226B, it represents a catastrophic stellar explosion classified as a Type FRB supernova.
FRB20220226B is classified in a core-collapse spectroscopic family. Events of this class are generally linked to the death of a massive star after successive nuclear burning stages, but no unique progenitor mass, lifetime, or pre-explosion identification is established for this object. The narrative of onion-shell fusion ending in iron-core collapse describes the class model, not a measured biography of FRB20220226B.
A Message Across Deep Cosmic Time
FRB20220226B has a luminosity distance of approximately Millions of Light-Years . Lookback time is unavailable without a usable redshift; do not equate luminosity distance with travel time.
Luminosity distance incorporates cosmic expansion and exceeds the light-travel distance. The two quantities must be reported separately.
Brightness Record
No calibrated peak magnitude is published for FRB20220226B, so neither its apparent brightness nor an equivalent solar luminosity can be stated.
The total energy released by the cataclysm was on the order of 10⁵¹ to 10⁵³ ergs. Over 99% of this energy was emitted within the first 10 seconds as a dense burst of trillions of neutrinos, with only 1% driving the visible blast wave.
The Radioactive Furnace: Why Supernovae Glow for Months
After peak, many supernovae are powered by the radioactive chain ⁵⁶Ni → ⁵⁶Co → ⁵⁶Fe. That is the standard model for Type FRB light curves; an object-specific nickel mass for FRB20220226B is not published here.
Nickel-56 decays to Cobalt-56 (half-life ≈6.1 days), then to stable Iron-56 (half-life ≈77.2 days), heating the ejecta from within. Typical class yields must not be quoted as measured values for this event.
Cosmic Kiln: Seeding the Elements of Life
Supernovae enrich galaxies with heavy elements. Events of FRB20220226B's class are associated with oxygen-group and intermediate-mass products (O, C, Ne, Mg, Si) in galactic chemical-evolution models. No measured elemental yields are published for FRB20220226B.
As Carl Sagan observed, "We are made of star-stuff" — a statement about nucleosynthesis in general, not a claim that atoms from this specific remnant are identified in the Solar System.
Galactic Setting in Ursa Minor
No host galaxy is identified for FRB20220226B in this catalog record
.
In our terrestrial sky, it resides in the constellation Ursa Minor (The Little Bear) at Right Ascension 14:25:38.400
and Declination +64:43:12.00.
The Scientific Surveillance Campaign
Following its discovery by CHIME/FRB Collaboration, observatories worldwide swung their lenses toward FRB20220226B. In the Open Supernova Catalog, FRB20220226B is documented across 0 photometric measurements and 0 spectroscopic epochs. These multi-wavelength observations allow astrophysicists to model the expanding photosphere, measure shock velocities, and probe circumstellar interactions.
Stargazer's Field Guide: Can You See It Tonight?
Can I see it tonight? Unknown — no measured brightness.
Discovered 4.7 years ago (2022/02/26). No reliable current brightness estimate — no photometry has been published.
Planetary Safety Note: Even though FRB20220226B was a titanic explosion, our planet sits safely outside the lethal 50–100 light-year kill zone. At a distance of Millions of Light-Years, the blast poses zero physical hazard to Earth's biosphere.
Cataloged transients closest to FRB20220226B in discovery time, spatial sky neighborhood, and cosmological redshift:
❓ Frequently Asked Questions About FRB20220226B
What type of supernova is FRB20220226B and what kind of star exploded? Astrophysics & Progenitor
What was the progenitor star doing in the millions of years leading up to FRB20220226B? Astrophysics & Progenitor
How far away is FRB20220226B from Earth and how old is the light reaching us? Cosmic Distance & Time
What does the cosmological redshift of FRB20220226B tell us about the expansion of space? Cosmic Distance & Time
How bright did FRB20220226B become at its peak, and how many Suns does that equal? Explosion Energetics
How much total energy was released by FRB20220226B, and where did that energy go? Explosion Energetics
How fast are the supernova ejecta and shockwave of FRB20220226B expanding through space? Explosion Energetics
What powers the prolonged glow of FRB20220226B weeks and months after detonation? Radioactive Engine
What chemical elements did FRB20220226B create and disperse into the universe? Nucleosynthesis & Elements
Did FRB20220226B leave behind a black hole, a neutron star, or nothing at all? Cosmic Remnant
What will FRB20220226B's explosion site look like in 1,000 to 10,000 years? Cosmic Remnant
In which galaxy did FRB20220226B explode, and where is it located relative to the galactic center? Galactic Environment
Where is FRB20220226B located in the night sky and which constellation is it in? Sky Coordinates
How much Milky Way interstellar dust obscures our view of FRB20220226B? Interstellar Dust
Across which photometric filter bands was FRB20220226B monitored? Astronomical Observations
What did astronomical spectroscopy reveal about FRB20220226B's chemical makeup? Astronomical Observations
Who discovered FRB20220226B and how was it first detected? Discovery & History
How many scientific publications and observatories have contributed data to FRB20220226B? Scientific Research
What other names and survey identifiers exist for FRB20220226B? Cross-Identifications
20220226B, chimefrb_213164717. These cross-matched identifiers allow astronomers to cross-reference observations across the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), Pan-STARRS, Gaia Photometric Science Alerts, and the IAU Transient Name Server (TNS).