Supernova’s

1. Supernova’s By, Kayden Oliver

2. Definition of Supernova. • The explosive death of a massive star whose energy output causes its expanding gases to glow brightly for weeks or months. A supernova can outshine any galaxy.

3. How do supernova’s occur? Supernova’s occur during the end of a star’s lifetime when the nuclear fuel is no longer able to support the release of nuclear energy. If a star is particularly massive, then the core of the star will collapse and then the massive star will release a huge amount of energy. Even though supernova’s are seen by nearby galaxies, they are rarely seen in our galaxy, the last one to be seen was Kelper’s star in 1604.

4. The massive explosion shoots out large cloud like dust material and gasses, whose mass may exceed 10 times the mass of the sun. Astronomers have recognized that there are two different types of supernova. Type I is where certain supernovas occur in some binary stars which are a pair of stars that are really close together that orbit around each other. Type II is where a supernova results in the death of a much more massive star then the sun. When that star burns out it starts to quickly collapse on itself. Huge energy is then released in the form of Neutrinos (some kind of subtonic particle) and Electromagnetic Radiation (electric and magnetic energy) then the star erupts into a supernova.

5. Supernova’s are the main suppliers of heavy elements for the universe nucleosynthesis. Elements necessary for life, like carbon and oxygen, as well as heavier elements like iron are produced by nucleosynthesis inside the star. While the explosion is happening those elements are being thrown out so that other stars and gasses can recycle them. The amount of heat and pressure released from the supernova may create new regions of star birth by compressing and surrounding interstellar medium (ISM) which is material that exists between the stars that is concentrated strongly in the galactic disks (about 99% dust and 1% dust grains).

6. Crab Supernova In 1054, Chinese astronomers recorded a supernova that was so bright it could be seen during the day. The supernova left behind a Pulsar and a huge cloud of gas and dust now known as the Crab Nebula, which can still be seen today. For a video on the Crab Supernova Explosion go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0J8srN24pSQ

7. Bibliography daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/s/superova.html • nasa.gov/worldbook/supernova_worldbook.html • heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/snr.html Images bibliography http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&source=imghp&biw=1222&bih=815&q=supernovas&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=