Myth vs Reality: Supernovas and Star Death
Video Player
Video Versions
This short video addresses the misconception that all stars die in supernova explosions.
Supernova: Video Segments
- +
Play
Title
Time
Above and Beyond: Supernova 1987A
00:47
Above and Beyond: Supernova Remnant 0509
00:47
Insight Into: Supernova in the Pinwheel Galaxy, 2011
01:57
At a Glance: Types of Supernova
02:15
Myth vs Reality: Supernova Types
00:40
Above and Beyond: Eta Carinae
01:12
Above and Beyond: Supernova Remnant N49
00:40
Celestial Tour: A Star's Demise—Origin of the Crab Nebula
04:34
Myth vs Reality: Supernova Danger
00:40
Myth vs Reality: Supernovas and Star Death
00:40
Credits
- +Supernovas
Produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute’s Office of Public Outreach.
All images, illustrations, and videos courtesy of NASA, ESA, and STScI except:
· Night sky imagery created with Stellarium
· Images of supernova in the Pinwheel Galaxy (SN 2011fe) courtesy of Peter Nugent and the Palomar Transient Factory, Thunderf00t (Wikipedia), and BJ Fulton/LCOGT
· Type Ia supernova animation courtesy of ESO/M. Kornmesser
· Taurus constellation drawing from Firmamentum Sobiescianum sive Uranographia by Johannes Hevelius, courtesy of the United States Naval Observatory
· Black-and-white Crab Nebula image: Bill Schoening/NOAO/AURA/NSF
· Drawing of the Crab Nebula by William Parsons, the Third Earl of Rosse
Written by Vanessa Thomas
Designed by John Godfrey
Transcript
- +(SPEECH)
[MUSIC PLAYING]
(DESCRIPTION)
Bright teal lines separate the screen in half. Text. Myth versus Reality. Above the Myth side is a constellation map with a horned bull. On the Reality side is a bright, bursting light.
Myth. All stars end their lives in supernova explosions.
Reality. Relatively few stars end their lives as supernovae. Stars that are many times more massive than the Sun explode as supernovae. But stars like the Sun, which are much more common, can end their lives quietly by gently puffing away their outer layers.