SOLAR SYSTEM

Detailed explanation-1: -A supernova is the colossal explosion of a star. Scientists have identified several types of supernova. One type, called a “core-collapse” supernova, occurs in the last stage in the life of massive stars that are at least eight times larger than our Sun. As these stars burn the fuel in their cores, they produce heat.

Detailed explanation-2: -The term supernova is derived from nova (Latin: “new”), the name for another type of exploding star. Supernovae resemble novae in several respects. Both are characterized by a tremendous, rapid brightening lasting for a few weeks, followed by a slow dimming.

Detailed explanation-3: -A supernova (PL: supernovae or supernovas) is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. A supernova occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion.

Detailed explanation-4: -Both flare up suddenly and – in the case of supernovae – unexpectedly, before slowly fading away entirely over weeks or months. Sixteenth-century astronomer Tycho Brahe coined the term “stella nova” or new star for stars which suddenly brighten, now called novae and supernovae.

Detailed explanation-5: -As the core collapses, the outer layers are blasted outwards in a supernova, the biggest explosion known to occur in the Universe. At its peak, a supernova can be brighter than an entire galaxy and can reach a diameter several light-years across.