Monday, October 10, 2011

What is a Supernova?


Supernovae occur when a giant star, one much bigger than our own Sun collapses upon itself and then explodes spectacularly, releasing in an instant
the Energy of a hundred billion suns, burning for a time brighter than all the
stars in its Galaxy.  If a Supernova exploded within five hundred light years of
us we would be annihilated instantaneously. That is why these Supernova can
be so hard to recognize, they are so distant that they appear when seen as a
twinkle in the night sky and for just a short period of time from hours to days
until they ultimately disappear. What makes them significant is that they
occupy a point in space that was dark and now suddenly has a point of light
emerging from it, that will last for just a short span of time.

2 comments:

  1. Oooh...pretty...I love astronomy and one of the things I love about it is supernovas, they're like paintings in the sky, don't you think so?

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  2. I'd agree with you Desiree. Sometimes the supernovas appear to be like paintings in the sky. They are so beautiful.-+

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