A supernova is a powerful explosion that occurs when some stars reach the ends of their lives; in this case, the blast was not sufficient to destroy it.
Instead, it sent the star hurtling through space at 900,000 km/hr.
Astronomers think the object, known as a white dwarf, was originally circling another star, which would have been sent flying in the opposite direction.
When two stars orbit each other like this, they are described as a “binary”. Only one of the stars has been detected by astronomers, however.
Turkey forces Netflix to cancel TV series over gay character
UAE Launches First Mission to Mars (infographic)
The object, known as SDSS J1240+6710, was previously found to have an unusual atmospheric composition.
Discovered in 2015, it seemed to contain neither hydrogen nor helium (which are usually found), appearing to be composed instead of an unusual mix of oxygen, neon, magnesium and silicon.
Read more: BBC
Ask me anything
Explore related questions