What is a supernova?

Supernovas are closely related to stars. A supernova occurs on the death of only certain types of stars. A typical supernova is an extremely bright star that can burst into view from events that often occurred thousands of years in the past. One of the most famous supernovae in our history is the crab nebula. The star explosion from this nebula was first recorded in 1054.

Other events of recorded supernovas occur in 393, 1181, 1006 and 1572. Supernovas occur roughly every 50 years in galaxies the size of our own. Stars are exploding almost every second somewhere in the universe but the way the star actually dies out depends entirely on its mass. Only larger stars explode into a supernova.

Supernovas often occur in two different ways, stars will accumulate matter from nearby stars and eventually create a nuclear reaction when they get too large. Sometimes stars also run out of fuel and collapse under their gravity causing a very large chain reaction explosion.

When heavy elements of the star build up in the center you can actually form layers like an onion and when the star passes a large mass it actually starts to implode. The core of that start will become denser and the implosion will bounce back off of the core and expel a massive amount of material out into space which forms the supernova.

Supernovae are slightly different because they lack the same lite Specter or hydrogen signature. This type of supernova is associated with white wharf stars and their often known as a standard candle.

Scientists today often detect supernovas that happen in the universe as a result of a hum over various listening devices. Detecting the signs of x-ray bursts can also be an indication of some supernova types.

As supernovas represent the destruction of stars it's also important to log the changes in light in mappings of our stars and universe.