Supernova - Guest Stars, Types Of Supernovae, Why A Supernova Explodes, Supernova 1987a
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A supernova is the massive explosion of a star, and is one of the most violent events in the Universe. There are two types of supernovae. A Type I supernova happens when a dead star called a white dwarf accretes so much matter from a companion star that it becomes unstable and explodes. A Type II supernova occurs when a high-mass star runs out of thermonuclear fuel. In this case, the star's core collapses and becomes tremendously hard and rigid. The collapsing outer layers of the star bounce off the core and are flung outward with a burst of energy that can rival the output of an entire galaxy.
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Studies of the Crab Nebula show that it is expanding, as if the enormous cloud of gas had been flung outward from a central point. Modern stellar evolution theory has provided a reason for this: the "guest stars" were the final acts in the lives of a massive star. These stars end their lives as supernovae, massive explosions that blast the stars' outer layers into space. For a…
A supernova is the explosion of a star. In a single cataclysm, a massive star may blow itself to bits, releasing as much energy, for a brief time, as an entire galaxy. There are two types of supernovae. A Type I supernova is the explosion and complete destruction of a dead star called a white dwarf. (The Sun, after it dies, will become a white dwarf.) If the white dwarf is made of carbon (the end …
If a Type II supernova is the collapse of a massive star, why does a huge explosion result? We do not have the answer, partly because of the extreme physical conditions that exist in the temperatures (about a trillion degrees) and pressures in a collapsing stellar core, and partly because everything happens very rapidly. The more rapidly the situation is changing, the more difficult it is to simul…
Supernovae ought to happen in our galaxy about once every 30 years. Until 1987, however, no bright supernova had been seen since 1604. By no means were we "due for one"—that is an all-too-frequent abuse of statistics—but nevertheless a supernova did explode on February 23, 1987. (To be precise, that was the date that light from the explosion first reached us; the actual…
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