Supernovae__Spectacle_or_Disaster_

Supernovae: Spectacle or Disaster' 20 February 2003 Supernovae: Spectacle or Disaster' A simplified definition of a supernova is “a rare celestial phenomenon involving the explosion of most of the material in a star, resulting in an extremely bright, short-lived object that emits vast amounts of energy,” (American 381). The word supernova originated when ancient astronomers thought that this spectacle was the creation of new stars. In Latin, “nova” means new. The name stuck although astronomers soon found that it was not the beginning of a star’s life, but actually the opposite. Although supernovae are a rare celestial phenomenon, they need to be further explored; their potential affect on our planet’s climate, the environment and the earth’s future needs to be acknowledged. To truly understand this event, one must be aware that stars, like humans, have life cycles. A star is born in a giant cloud of gas and dust, called a nebula. The mass of the star is determined by how much matter is available in its nebula. With more mass, comes a shorter life cycle. Through time, hydrogen gas is pulled together and eventually begins to spin. As the spinning gradually increases, the heat supernova, star, supernovae, bubble, stars, phenomenon, life, years, times, type, possible, planet, mass, interstellar, gas, explosion, been, because, university, system, sun, solar, says, radiation, out, object, material, massive, made, local, galaxy, eventually, enough, during, cosmic