1. By Josh Thompson Supernovae

2. Definition: A supernova is an extremely luminous stellar explosion that results in the more or less death of a star The reason stars supernova is because of a limit of mass is reached, and then exceeded, causing the star to implode, pushing everything off the layers above with an amazing amount of energy With the mass and temperature increasing in the core of the star, bigger and bigger elements (such as iron and carbon) begin building until the star explodes, sending out all those elements into the universe and also creating even heavier elements in the blast http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=jy4MuyZNu Zk What is a Supernova?

3. Supernovas occur in two different types: Type I is caused when a star accumulates matter by a neighboring star and a nuclear reaction ignites (white dwarf in binary system) Type II is caused when a star runs out of nuclear fuel and collapses under its own gravity (main sequence star) Why They Happen

4. During the Cold War, the United States developed hydrogen bombs with a maximum theoretical yield of 25 megatons (~10 15 Joules) A Supernova releases as much energy as the Sun emits in it's entire life or 10 44 joules which is about ten octillion megatons of TNT (~10 28 joules) So you'd need about 10 trillion (~10 13 ) of the most powerful hydrogen bombs to equal a supernova The Impact

5. The Type I supernova leaves only a supernova remnant, a cloud of gradually cooling gas, after the explosion. Even the iron core of the once white dwarf is vaporized and pushed out into space as element particles The Type II supernova can leave one of three objects after explosion: a neutron star, a pulsar (spinning neutron star), or a black hole The Aftermath

6. The 1987A supernova is the most recent supernova that has occurred as far as we know. The event of its collapse was 166,000 years ago, but it took all this time for its light to reach Earth Discovered February 23, 1987 Located in the Magellanic Cloud 1987A Supernova

7. The intense heat and pressure of a supernova causes the build of atoms and the creation of heavier and heavier elements, which then get scattered into space when the explosion happens What it Produces

8. What is a Supernova, 04 May 2009, http://www.space.com/6638- supernova.htmlhttp://www.space.com/6638- supernova.html Supernovae, http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/universe/supernova e-article/ http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/universe/supernova e-article/ Bibliography