Supernovae

By: Katie Dang, Shayna Lee, Shehzeen Rahman, Savannah Garris, Silas Stringer

The Origin of Supernovae

Luminous. Limitless. Legendary. Words that seem to convey the vast unknown of the exploding stars in space we call supernovae. Though the first sightings of these galactic phenomenons are unclear, we see one of the first recordings of a supernova date back to 185 A.D. which was documented by Chinese astronomers. A supernova is a powerful and radiant explosion, yet space dust blocks our view of most supernovae in the milky way. This is why it is rare to spot a supernova with just our eyes! It is believed by astronomers that two to three supernovae occur every century, however it can take over a century for us to be able to see one without space dust clouding our view. Places where it is most common to view these gleaming blasts are places where stars have recently formed. The arms of spiral galaxies are said to be the best places to find these massive young stars. Unbeknownst to many, it is rather easy for galaxies to collide. Colliding galaxies may trigger a star formation making interacting galaxies a good place to find supernovae as well. As we start to further explore our galaxy, we should consider the people who made these discoveries which furthered our understanding of the world.

People of Importance 

Two people: Walter Baade and Fritz Zwicky are known to have identified and explained supernovas. In 1934, they discovered a supernovae which was a massive explosion of stars. Together later in 1934 they proposed supernovae could produce cosmic rays as well as neutron stars. Their discoveries heavily contributed to the advancement of our understanding regarding birth and decay in our galaxy. They are also known for their work with neutron stars and cosmic rays to this day.  The name “supernova” is hypothesized by neutron stars. Neutron stars are one of the final stages of a dying star. They could also be known as a “star corpse.” This hypothesis continued to be explored. Allowing astronomers to find out more about the development of a supernova itself.

The Development of a Supernova

One thing is for sure: stars do not just explode. There are many factors to a supernova occurring. First of all, we need to know what a star really is, and how it even exists in the first place. Stars are fueled by the process of turning hydrogen into helium, also known as nuclear fusion. This keeps the star safe from the gravity that tries to make it collapse, but not forever. Once this fuel eventually runs out, the star goes supernova due to nothing keeping it from collapsing in on itself. The star will get much bigger, but the core will start shrinking. The shrinking of the core does emit some energy, but not enough and not for long. Finally, the core gets compressed, and its retaliation makes the layers covering the core emit a shockwave, making the surface layers of the star combine into different elements and shoot into space. These parts are called supernova remnants, and explode away from the star. In the end, the only thing left of the star is a neutron star, a highly dense core of only neutrons. Though, if the star was big, it may turn into something a bit different. A black hole. 

The Contributions of Supernovae

Supernovae are very important in today’s world, helping us widen our understanding of the universe. Some people say that a supernova was actually the reason why our solar system was created! According to a study done by astrophysicists in the University of Minnesota, a small supernova must have impacted a cloud of dust that went on to create our very own solar system. The Sun, along with all the planets, meteors, dwarf planets, etc. were created by a cloud of dust, one which scientists think was compressed by the very energy from a supernova. Supernovae can also affect life on Earth. Some scientists suspect that supernovas turned many of our forests to grasslands, years ago. Many years ago, the rate of lightning started to increase by a lot. This caused many wildfires, turning the once forests to grasslands. What may have caused this sudden change in weather over just a few decades? A supernova. Many things have been discovered and solved due to the discovery of supernovas, making them very important in today’s society.

Related Topics

Supernovas are colossal explosions caused by a dying star. The explosion will occur when there is no more fuel for the star to sustain itself through nuclear fusion. This creates an outward pressure that combats the inward gravitational pull of the star’s mass, causing it to collapse onto itself and explode. Another path a star can become a supernova is if it gains too much mass and cannot support its new size and demand for fuel, over exhausting its energy supplies and exploding. Supernovas usually occur somewhere in the universe every ten seconds and roughly once per century in a galaxy like ours. These celestial explosions can also make way for black holes or neutron stars, but only an extremely heavy and large star can create a black hole. Once a supernova is done exploding and spewing elements all over the place, the dense core and hot gas remain - called a nebula or extremely dense neutron star. Once it explodes, these dying stars can briefly outshine entire galaxies, radiating more energy than our own Sun will within its entire lifetime. And, to remind you, the Sun’s lifetime is expected to last 7 billion to 8 billion years and a supernova can produce more energy than that within seconds. What supernovas can achieve in mere seconds is extremely vast and fascinating. 

Works Cited

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