A Beginner Astronomer's Guide to Supernovae

When people talk about something massive, explosive and just plain magnificent, they usually refer to it as a supernova. But what exactly is it and what role does it play in astronomy?

What is a supernova?
A supernova is the explosion of a large star. A star begins to die once it uses up its fuel. It becomes so dense and heavy that it collapses unto itself and explodes. The explosion produces a shock wave that expands, resulting to a sudden increase in brightness. Sometimes, a supernova can burn so bright that it can glow even brighter than the galaxy where it is located.

So what happens to the star's shell? The pieces are blown off into space and sometimes form part of a new planet or another star. Its remnants can also form nebulae. One such example is the Crab Nebula, which was formed out of the material from a supernova that occurred in 1054.

Supernovae are quite rare. In our galaxy, there are only three recorded: the one in 1054, in 1572 and another in 1604. That means that the last explosion that produced a supernova occurred in our galaxy more than 400 years ago.

Supernovae also occur in other galaxies, although they are only visible on Earth with the use of a telescope. Even then, what we would normally see are just dust clouds. Astronomers can see through this covering by detecting radio waves emitted by the supernova.

Types of supernovae
Supernovas can either be Type I or Type II. Type I supernovae are those that occur in smaller-massed old stars. Type II occurs in young stars with a large mass. A Type I supernova doesn't have hydrogen lines in its spectrum while the opposite is true with Type II. When a Type I supernova explodes, it completely destroys its original star. A Type II supernova will oftentimes leave a solid material behind, called a stellar core.

Importance of supernovae
Surely, an occurrence of this magnitude doesn't happen without a reason and supernovae do have their contribution to the universe. They are responsible in producing heavy elements. The materials ejected through a massive explosion also become part of new stars and quite possibly, new planetary systems.

It is also believed that the formation of our very own galaxy is something we owe to the appearance of one or more supernovae. The elements and materials that resulted from these explosions could have possibly mixed with other elements in space and eventually formed the initial structures of our main star, the Sun, all our planets and maybe even the first lifeforms.

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