Why Does It Happen? |
Stars are essential a giant nuclear reactor. They produce energy by fusing Hydrogen into Helium. But after a while they run out of Hydrogen to fuse, so instead they fuse helium into heavier elements. This causes the Star's core to shrink while the outer core expands. This creates a red Giant which will then consume surrounding planets. When small stars run out of Helium to fuse they will become a White Dwarf and then a Black dwarf. When a large Star runs out of Helium to fuse the core stars to collapse withing seconds. This causes temperatures of over 100 Billion degrees. the outer layer of the Star collapses as well causing a huge outward explosion known as a 'supernova'.
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Aftermarth
Supernovas are able to produce enough energy to fuse elements heavier than Iron like Gold or Uranium. Whats left of the stars core can either become a super dense Neutron Star or become a Black Hole. Material expelled from the Supernova may form Nebulae, the birth place of new Stars.
How They Are Studied
When astronomers observe supernovas, they use telescopes that work at various wavelengths. When they use normal telescopes astronomers measure the amount of light being emitted by a supernova, as seen from Earth. They do this usually through a number of light filters. From these measurements, they can determine how the brightness, and color of a supernova over time. Supernovas generally brighten to a maximum brightness, then decline slowly in brightness over many weeks or months .Astronomers also pass the light through a device that looks like a prism which breaks the light from the supernova into its primary colors. This is known as a spectrum. A spectrum shows how the brightness of light depends on the wavelength of light. Light is not equally bright at all.