Stellar types
type: Concept
narrower: Supernovae

White dwarf stars
type: Concept
related: Supernovae

Core-collapse supernovae
type: Concept
broader: Supernovae

Ejecta
type: Concept
related: Supernovae

Supernovae
type: Concept
narrower: Type Ia supernovae
narrower: Hypernovae
narrower: Core-collapse supernovae
related: Supernova dynamics
related: White dwarf stars
related: Burst astrophysics
related: Ejecta
modified: 2020-12-16T19:08:56.791Z
modified: 2020-11-04T18:58:21.109Z
contributor: AAS Frey.Katie Admin
definition: 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.
broader: Stellar remnants
broader: Stellar types

Type Ia supernovae
type: Concept
broader: Supernovae

Hypernovae
type: Concept
broader: Supernovae

Supernova dynamics
type: Concept
related: Supernovae

Burst astrophysics
type: Concept
related: Supernovae

Stellar remnants
type: Concept
narrower: Supernovae