Lecture on Supernovas

        Went on my evening walk re-listening to another astronomy lecture about supernovas. There are many ways a star can go supernova but the lecture was on type 1A and type 2. A type 1A supernova is formed in a binary system where one star is a red giant and the other is a white dwarf. The white dwarf accretes matter from the red giant and if the white dwarf exceeds the Chandrasekhar limit of 1.4 solar masses it goes supernova- 5 million times brighter than the Sun. Type 2 is from massive stars with at least nine solar masses and releases so much energy that it out shines the galaxy they implode in. Heavier elements than iron are created in this process by electrons and protons that merge to create neutrons. If it wasn’t for type 2 novas we wouldn’t exist because there wouldn’t be any heavy elements heavier than Iron 56. Oh there is so much more on type 2s that I could write about, but time grows late.