Supernovae (plural for supernova) are such intense, powerful events, we can never seem to get enough of them.  Some things in the universe are so overwhelming that we return to them again and again, trying to encompass them.  Supernovae grab us on all levels; the science is there, the beauty, the drama… they even appeal to the child in us; you know, the one that likes to set off fireworks and watch them go “boom”.

I couldn't resist

Folks, you don’t get much bigger “booms” than supernovae.

There are several types of supernovae, and in this post I talked about the mechanics of supernovae (if you’re interested).  As talked about in the linked post, getting as close as 6,000 light years to a supernova may be a really bad idea, but let’s pretend we’re in a special spacecraft that lets us get right up next to a supernova.

Hush.  I can pretend whatever I want.

NASA/JPL Hubble ST - SN1994D

Okay, we’re skimming along the surface of a star at least 10X the size of our sun.  Let’s say we’re studying it as we know it’s a candidate for supernova.  We’ve known for thousands of years.  Now, all of a sudden, the trigger is pulled.  The core begins runaway nuclear fusion, and at this point nothing known in the universe will stop the inevitable.  The core collapses.

As we have been skimming along the surface, the star’s gravity has us and we’re suddenly pulled inward toward the core, along with the rest of the star’s mass.   Almost instantly the core rebounds, and we’re blasted out at about 30,000 km/s, along with most of the star’s mass.  During the initial shock wave, you’ll be surrounded by a light greater than that of an entire galaxy, with its millions and billions of stars.  You are surrounded by as much energy as our sun will radiate in its entire life span, all being blasted out into space.  You are riding a wave like none other.

NASA/JJ Hester/ Hubble ST -- Cygnus Loop SN Remnant -- What a beauty!

There’s a probability of one supernova every 50 years in a galaxy the size of  the Milky Way.  So… until we get intergalactic space travel, you’re stuck with just one supernova…

… but what a ride!