An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A violent stellar explosion which blows off all or most of the star’s material at high velocity leaving a compact stellar remnant such as a → neutron star or → black hole. At → maximum light, the supernova can have → luminosity about 10⁸ or 10⁹ times the → solar luminosity. The phenomenon results from the later evolution of stars when an instability sets in
the core following the → nucleosynthesis of → iron. In → massive stars, the supernova occurs when the star has used up all its available → nuclear fuel and it reaches a lower energy state through → gravitational collapse to form a more compact object. In → white dwarfs forming → binary systems, → accretion of mass onto the surface of a neutron star can be sufficient to take the star over the upper mass limit for stability as a white dwarf. Consequently, the white dwarf collapses in a → supernova explosion to form a neutron star.
There are several → supernova types.

See also: → super-; → nova.