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Supernova - Papers Online

Supernova

A is a STAR that explodes. It suddenly increases in
brightness by a factor of many billions, and within a few weeks it slowly
fades. In terms of the human lifespan, such explosions are rare occurrences.
In our Milky Way galaxy, for example, a may be observed every few
hundred years. Three such explosions are recorded in history: in 1054, in
1572, and in 1604. The CRAB NEBULA consists of material ejected by the
supernova of 1054. Such materials, known as supernova remnants, are common
in the heavens.

The supernovas observed in modern times have all occurred in other
galaxies, the most distant yet having been detected in 1988 in a galaxy 5
billion light-years away. The most ...

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behind after the explosion is a NEUTRON STAR--a
star only a few kilometers in diameter having an enormously large density
and consisting mainly of neutrons--or a PULSAR, a pulsating neutron star.

There are two common types of supernovas, called type I and type II.
Type I occurs among old stars of small mass, whereas type II occurs among
very young stars of large mass. It is not known how a small-mass star can
release the very large amounts of energy needed to explain type I
supernovas. Scientists generally believe that this must involve binary
systems--two stars revolving around each other. In such a system one of the
stars is a WHITE DWARF, a small, dense star that is near the end of its
nuclear burning phase. After attracting matter from the companion star for
some time, the white dwarf eventually collapses with a great rush, becoming
a neutron star, and ejecting matter outward. This rebound of matter is
thought to be the supernova.

Stars with large masses burn ...

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Supernova. (2005, October 6). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Supernova/34410

"Supernova." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 6 Oct. 2005. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Supernova/34410>

"Supernova." Essayworld.com. October 6, 2005. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Supernova/34410.

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 10/6/2005 09:04:55 AM
Category: Science & Nature
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 696
Pages: 3

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