10th Week: Supernovae and Nucleosynthesis B: Difference between revisions
(New page: =Supernova= The final stage of the life of stars can be very different and depends strongly on the mass of the individual stars. Some star will just consume all their nuclear fuel ... Ther...) |
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The final stage of the life of stars can be very different and depends strongly on the mass of the individual stars. Some star will just consume all their nuclear fuel | The final stage of the life of stars can be very different and depends strongly on the mass of the individual stars. Some star will just consume all their nuclear fuel and die quietly, but there are special cases in which the star ends its life with a violent explosion that can last for days. This process is called supernova. | ||
==Supernova Type 1a== | ==Supernova Type 1a== | ||
Type 1a supernova, also called thermonuclear supernova, begins with a White Dwarf (WD) star with mass close to 1 solar mass. Very special conditions need to be satisfied in order for the WD to become a supernova. This is because the WD has to accrete matter, for example, if the WD is part of a binary system, the other star will be the source of matter for the WD. Other methods for the accretion of matter have been proposed. | |||
Revision as of 18:07, 19 April 2009
Supernova
The final stage of the life of stars can be very different and depends strongly on the mass of the individual stars. Some star will just consume all their nuclear fuel and die quietly, but there are special cases in which the star ends its life with a violent explosion that can last for days. This process is called supernova.
Supernova Type 1a
Type 1a supernova, also called thermonuclear supernova, begins with a White Dwarf (WD) star with mass close to 1 solar mass. Very special conditions need to be satisfied in order for the WD to become a supernova. This is because the WD has to accrete matter, for example, if the WD is part of a binary system, the other star will be the source of matter for the WD. Other methods for the accretion of matter have been proposed.