Opening flash of a giant star explosion captured for the first time

Today's Image of the Day from the European Space Agency features a rare and fast-moving scene: the explosive death of a massive star caught at the exact moment the blast pushed through the star’s surface.  Astronomers used the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile to capture this brief window in time. The moment passed within hours. By the next night, it would have vanished. These early stages are hard to catch. Most supernovae are discovered after they brighten, long after key...