Supernova

A supernova (abbr. SN; pl. supernovae, abbr. SNe) is an immensely powerful, luminous explosion of a progenitor star. The explosion is followed either by the collapse of the progenitor into a neutron star or a black hole, or by the complete destruction of the progenitor, leaving a Supernova remnant diffuse nebula as a remnant. Supernovae are a major source of cosmic rays and are important for scientific understanding of cosmology. Quotes During the lifetime of our Milky Way galaxy, there have been something like 100 million supernova explosions, which have enriched the Galaxy with the oxygen we breathe, the iron in our cars, the calcium in our bones and the silicon in the rocks beneath our feet. These exploding stars also influence the birth of new stars and are the source of the energetic cosmic rays that irradiate us on the Earth. The prodigious amount of energy (~10 51 ergs, or ~2.5 × 1028 Tonne megatonnes of TNT equivalent) and momentum associated with each supernova may even have helped to shape galaxies as they formed in the Early universe early Universe. Supernovae are now being used to measure the geometry of the Universe, and have recently been implicated in the decades-old mystery of the origin of the Gamma-ray burst γ-ray bursts. Together with major conceptual advances in our theoretical understanding of supernovae, these developments have made supernovae the centre of attention in astrophysics. Adam Burrows, Supernova explosions in the universe Nature 403 6771 February 2000 727–733 https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2000Natur.403..727B/abstract 10.1038/35001501 SN 2023ixf Supernova 2023ixf occurred on 18 May 2023 in the nearby galaxy Pinwheel Galaxy Messier 101 (Distance measure distance 𝐷≈6.85 Megaparsec Mpc), making it the closest supernova in the last decade. Following its discovery, astronomers around the world rushed to observe the explosion across the electromagnetic spectrum in order to uncover its early-time properties. Based on multi-wavelength analysis during its first year after explosion, Supernova 2023ixf is a type II supernova that interacted with dense, confined circumstellar material in its local environment—this material being lost from its red supergiant progenitor in the final years before explosion. Wynn Jacobson-Galán, SN 2023ixf: The Closest Supernova of the Decade Universe 11 7 2025 231 https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1997/11/7/231 10.3390/universe11070231 The final stages of a star's life depend on its mass, and are not yet completely understood. If the mass is much greater than that of the Sun, the star will explode violently as a supernova, showering the Interstellar medium interstellar gas with a mixture of all the Chemical element elements that have been produced in its nuclear reactions. The most spectacular example of a relic of such an explosion in the Crab Nebula Crab nebula ..., the remains of a supernova explosion observed by Chinese astronomers in ad 1054. Michael Rowan-Robinson, Cosmology 4th Oxford University Press 2004 9780198527473 https://books.google.com/books?id=317Q6_OOVVoC&pg=PA25 25 (184 pages; 1st edition 1977) External links What is a supernova? Australian Academy of Science, YouTube September 7, 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrJVmjEm-2c Category:Astronomy Category:Cosmology Category:Nature