Supernova

:For information about the 2000 movie, see Supernova (movie).

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Supernovae refer to several types of stellar explosions that produce extremely bright objects made of plasma that decline to invisibility over weeks or months.

Related Topics:
Stellar - Explosion - Plasma

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There are two possible routes to this end: either a massive star may cease to generate fusion energy in its core and collapse inward under the force of its own gravity, or a white dwarf star may accumulate material from a companion star until it reaches its Chandrasekhar limit and undergoes a thermonuclear explosion. In either case, the resulting supernova explosion expels much or all of the stellar material with great force.

Related Topics:
Star - Gravity - White dwarf - Chandrasekhar limit - Thermonuclear

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The explosion drives a blast wave into the surrounding space, forming a supernova remnant. One famous example of this process is the remnant of SN 1604, shown at right. Supernova explosions

Related Topics:
Blast wave - Space - Supernova remnant - SN 1604

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are the main source of all the elements heavier than oxygen, and they are the only source of many important elements. For example, all the calcium in our bones and all the iron in our hemoglobin were synthesized in a supernova explosion, billions of years ago. Supernovae inject these heavy elements into the interstellar medium, thus enriching the molecular clouds that are the sites of stellar formation. This enrichment process is what determined the composition of the Solar System 4.5 billion years ago, and ultimately made possible the chemistry of life on Earth as we know it as per the "Big Bang" theory.

Related Topics:
Elements - Oxygen - Calcium - Iron - Hemoglobin - Interstellar medium - Solar System - Big Bang

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Supernovae generate tremendous temperatures, and under the right conditions, the fusion reactions that take place during the peak moments of a supernova can produce some of the heaviest elements like californium.

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"Nova" (pl. novae) is Latin for "new", referring to what appears to be a very bright new star shining in the celestial sphere; the prefix "super" distinguishes this from an ordinary nova, which also involves a star increasing in brightness, though to a lesser extent and through a different mechanism. However, it is misleading to consider a supernova as a new star, because it really represents the death of a star (or at least its radical transformation into something else).

Related Topics:
Latin - Star - Celestial sphere - Prefix - Nova

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