THE DOWNFALL OF A

HIGH MASS STAR

(SUPERNOVA
TO BLACKHOLE)
 WHAT IS A SUPERNOVA ?

A blindingly bright star bursts into view in a corner of the night sky –it
wasn’t there just a few hours ago, but now it burns like a beacon.

That bright star isn’t actually a star, at least not anymore. The brilliant
point of light is the explosion of a star that has reached the end of its
life,otherwise known as a supernova.

Supernovae can briefly outshine entire galaxies and radiate more energy
than our Sun will in its entire lifetime.They’re also the priary source of
heavy elements in the universe. According to NASA,supernovae are
‘’THE LARGEST EXPLOSION THAT TAKES PLACE IN SPACE’’.
 HOW WAS THE SUPERNOVA DISCOVERED?

In 185 A.D., someone in China looked up in the night sky and saw a new star. It
sparkled and did not move,so it couldn’t be a comet. This ‘’guest star’’ stayed in the
sky for eight months and then disappeared forever it was recorded in the BOOK
OF THE LATER HAN,which told the history of CHINA from 25 to 220 A.D.

The guest star was a supernova , a star that had run out of fuel and then collapsed in
on itself in a thousandth of a second . The core of the star heated to a billion degrees
quantities.Only a tiny fraction were produced . Neutrinos were generated in huge
energy they ripped apart the outer layers of the star . This violet explosion , which
could have been brighter than an galaxy ,also produced X-RAYS , GAMMA
RAYS , and ultraviolet light
 HOW WAS SUPERNOVA FORMED ?

A supernova happens where there is a change in the core, or center, of a star. A

change can occur in two different ways.

The first type of supernova happens in binary star systems. Binary are two stars
that orbit the same point. One of the stars, a carbon-oxygen white dwarf ,steals
matter from its companion star.Eventually, the white dwarf accumulates too much
matter. Having too much matter causes the star to explode resulting in a supernova.

The second type of supernova occurs at the end of a single stars lifetime.As the
star runs out the nuclear fuel, some of its mass flows into its core.Eventually,the
core is so heavy that it cannot withstand its own gravitational force.The core
collapses,which results in the giant explosion of a supernova .The Sun is a single
star,but it does not have enough mass to become a supernova.