ABSTRACT

A supernova is the explosion of a large, late-stage star. There are different types of Supernovae, but the great majority fall into Type I or Type II. Type I Supernovae are believed to originate from a pair of stars, the progenitor star (the star before it exploded into what was seen as the supernova) being an old star (a white dwarf) that attracts and burns the hydrogen gas of a nearby younger star (this process is known as accretion). The white dwarf begins by burning hydrogen into helium, then helium into carbon and oxygen. Eventually the white dwarf mass grows beyond the stable Chandrasekhar limit of 1.4 solar masses, and the carbon in the star’s core ignites, creating the explosion that is the supernova.