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Mar 22, 2024 · March 22, 2024, 4:00 AM PDT. By Denise Chow. A rare cosmic eruption is expected to occur in the Milky Way in the coming months — an outburst so bright that a “new” star will seemingly appear ...
A supernova (pl.: supernovae or supernovas) is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. A supernova occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star, or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion.
- What Causes A Supernova?
- How Bright Are Supernovas?
- How Common Are Supernovas?
- What Can We Learn from Supernovas?
- How Do Scientists Study Supernovas?
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One type of supernova is caused by the “last hurrah” of a dying massive star. This happens when a star at least five times the mass of our sun goes out with a fantastic bang! Massive stars burn huge amounts of nuclear fuel at their cores, or centers. This produces tons of energy, so the center gets very hot. Heat generates pressure, and the pressur...
These spectacular events can be so bright that they outshine their entire galaxies for a few days or even months. They can be seen across the universe.
Not very. Astronomers believe that about two or three supernovas occur each century in galaxies like our own Milky Way. Because the universe contains so many galaxies, astronomers observe a few hundred supernovas per year outside our galaxy. Space dust blocks our view of most of the supernovas within the Milky Way.
Scientists have learned a lot about the universe by studying supernovas. They use the second type of supernova (the kind involving white dwarfs) like a ruler, to measure distances in space. They have also learned that stars are the universe’s factories. Stars generate the chemical elements needed to make everything in our universe. At their cores, ...
NASA scientists use a number of different types of telescopes to search for and then study supernovas. One example is the NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array) mission, which uses X-ray vision to investigate the universe. NuSTAR is helping scientists observe supernovas and young nebulas to learn more about what happens leading up to, durin...
Learn about the causes, types, brightness, and effects of supernovas, the biggest explosions in the universe. Find out how NASA scientists use telescopes to study these spectacular events and what they reveal about the origin of elements and the expansion of space.
Apr 19, 2024 · T CrB is a binary system of a white dwarf and a red giant that erupts every 80 years in a nova, a hydrogen bomb-like outburst. Learn when and where to see this rare event in the night sky and how it differs from a supernova.
- Will Sullivan
Dec 10, 2023 · Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) view of Cas A displays this stellar explosion at a resolution previously unreachable at these wavelengths. This high-resolution look unveils intricate details of the expanding shell of material slamming into the gas shed by the star before it exploded.
Dec 13, 2023 · See how the dying star that exploded 340 years ago spewed its materials across the cosmos in near-infrared light. Learn about the elements, dust and light echoes formed by the supernova remnant Cas A, located 11,000 light-years from Earth.
May 25, 2024 · Learn about supernovae, the violent explosions of massive stars that outshine their galaxies and create heavy elements. Find out the types, history, and examples of supernovae, and how they are observed and studied.
