Some facts about supernovae

Crab Nebula

• A supernova (plural supernovae) is a stellar explosion that is more energetic than a nova.
• The Supernova's violent explosion can radiate as much energy as our Sun could emit over its life span.
• The explosion expels much or all of a star's material at a velocity of up to 30,000 km/s (10 percent of the speed of light).
• Astronomers have witnessed supernovae in many galaxies.
• The word supernova was coined by Swiss astrophysicist and astronomer Fritz Zwicky.
• The last supernovae to be seen in our Galaxy was Kepler’s Supernova (1604).
• Several types of supernovae exist
• Supernova remnants play an important role in the creation of all the elements heavier than boron.
• After the core of an aging massive star ceases generating energy from nuclear fusion, it may undergo sudden gravitational collapse into a neutron star or black hole.
• Famous supernova remnants are the Crab Nebula, which exploded in 1054, and the Cygnus Loop.
• The expanding shock waves from supernova explosions can trigger the formation of new stars.
• In 1987 there was a supernova explosion in our neighboring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud – Supernova 1987 A.
• Supernova remnants in the Milky Way indicate on average that the event occurs about once every 50 years.
• The earliest recorded supernova, SN 185, was viewed by Chinese astronomers in 185 AD.