SUPERNOVA

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

Irregular inflected form: supernovae

I. (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A star that explodes and becomes extremely luminous in the process

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("supernova" is a kind of...):

star ((astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior)

Instance hyponyms:

Crab Nebula (a remnant of a supernova detected first in 1054 AD)

Credits

Context examples:

Like all red supergiants, Betelgeuse will one day go supernova, but astronomers don’t think this is happening now.

(ESO Telescope Sees Surface of Dim Betelgeuse, ESO)

Stellar explosions are most often associated with supernovae, the spectacular deaths of stars.

(ALMA Captures Dramatic Stellar Fireworks, ESO)

The planet’s host star, WASP-127, is also lithium rich, which could point to an AGB star – a bright red giant thousands of times brighter than the sun – or a supernova having enriched the cloud of material from which this system originated.

(Multiple metals – and possible signs of water – found in unique exoplanet, University of Cambridge)

Halo gas fuels star formation as it falls towards the centre of the galaxy, while other processes, such as supernova explosions, can eject material out of the star-forming regions and into the galactic halo.

(Enigmatic radio burst illuminates a galaxy’s tranquil halo, ESO)

Over three days, the Cow produced a sudden explosion of light at least 10 times brighter than a typical supernova, and then it faded over the next few months.

(Mysterious Blast Studied with NASA Telescopes, NASA)

When the star that created this supernova remnant exploded in 1572, it was so bright that it was visible during the day.

(Chandra Movie Captures Expanding Debris from a Stellar Explosion, NASA)

Study researcher Jane Greaves, from the University of Cardiff, and colleagues, found that the reason our planet got enough of the element is because it is close enough to a supernova.

(Finding Alien Life Unlikely Due to Lack of Phosphorus in Universe, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The two supernovae matched up well with mathematical models of Type II explosions reinforcing existing theories.

(Kepler Catches Early Flash of an Exploding Star, NASA)

The solar wind can steal electrons from the neutral gas, resulting in an X-ray glow that looks a lot like the glow from an old supernova.

(Evidence for supernovas near Earth, NASA)