What is the Meaning & Definition of Supernova
Initially, this kind of phenomenon is called it new or simply new stars, however, with the passage of time is decided to make a new distinction between the phenomena of this kind but who have a different brightness. Then, to the less light is continued calling them new or novas and to the extremely bright was annexed them the super prefix, supernovae.
Supernovae are capable of producing such but so intense flashes of light that can last from a few weeks to several months. A supernova intensifies suddenly its brightness until you reach the maximum, even brighter than the rest of the Galaxy, decreasing in intensity until they disappear completely.
Doubts persist about its origin and therefore several scenarios such as come risking: it's massive stars that already cannot develop thermonuclear reactions in its core and are therefore incapable of holding, collapsing and generating a very strong emission of energy, or failing that, at the moment when a white dwarf (stellar remnant that originates when a star of less than 9-10 mass exhausted their nuclear fuel) member of a system binary closed, receives sufficient mass of his partner, surpassing the limit of Chandrasekhar (the maximum mass of a stable cold star), giving rise to all its core instant fusion, and then to soar a thermonuclear explosion that expelled almost all of the material that formed it.
Meanwhile, there are different types of supernovae, their differentiation is based on the absorption lines of different chemical elements that appear in their spectra. The key to his division welcomes the presence or absence of hydrogen, i.e. If the spectrum of a supernova does not contain a line of hydrogen will be of type I, on the other hand, if he presents it is classified as type II.
The great contribution as defined to supernovae is the enrichment of the interstellar medium with metals. Most metals higher it will be stellar evolution.
Article contributed by the team of collaborators.