Quite rarely, people can observe such an interesting phenomenon as a supernova. But this is not an ordinary birth of a star, because in our galaxy up to ten stars are born annually. A supernova is a phenomenon that can only be observed once every hundred years. So bright and beautiful stars die.
To understand why a supernova explosion occurs, one must return to the very birth of a star. Hydrogen flies in space, which gradually gathers in the clouds. When the cloud is large enough, compacted hydrogen begins to collect in its center, and the temperature gradually rises. Under the influence of gravity, the nucleus of the future star is assembled, where, due to increased temperature and increasing gravity, the reaction of thermonuclear synthesis begins to take place. On how much hydrogen a star can attract to itself, its future size depends on it - from a red dwarf to a blue giant. Over time, the balance of the star’s work is established, the outer layers press on the core, and the core expands due to the energy of thermonuclear fusion.
A star is a kind of
thermonuclear reactor, and, like any reactor, someday it will run out of fuel - hydrogen. But for us to see how a supernova exploded, a little more time must pass, because instead of hydrogen, another fuel (helium) was formed that starts to burn the star, turning it into oxygen, and then into carbon. And this will continue until iron is formed in the star’s core, which, during a thermonuclear reaction, does not release energy, but consumes it. Under such conditions, a supernova may explode.
The core becomes heavier and colder, as a result, lighter upper layers begin to fall on it. The thermonuclear fusion reaction starts again, but this time faster than usual, as a result of which the star just explodes, scattering its matter into the surrounding space. Depending on the size of the star, small "stars" may also remain after it . The most famous of them are black holes (a substance with an incredibly high density, which has a very large attractive force and can emit light). Such formations remain after very large stars, which managed to produce thermonuclear fusion to very heavy elements. Smaller stars leave behind them neutron or iron small stars, which almost do not emit light, but also have a high density of matter.
New and supernova stars are closely related, because the death of one of them can mean the birth of a new one. This process continues indefinitely. A supernova spreads millions of tons of matter into the surrounding space, which again gathers in the clouds, and the formation of a new celestial body begins. Scientists claim that all the heavy elements that are in our solar system, the Sun during its birth "stole" from a star that once exploded. Nature is amazing, and the death of one thing always means the birth of something new. In open space, matter disintegrates, and in stars it forms, creating a great balance of the Universe.