Tagged Questions
24
votes
2answers
1k views
Why does a supernova explode
This is really bugging me. When you look up some educational text about stars life, this is what you find out:
Gravity creates the temperature and pressure to start fusion reactions.
The fusion ...
5
votes
3answers
89 views
How is the distance to a $\gamma \mathrm{-ray}$ burst (GRB) measured in just a few days?
Recently the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope recorded the most energetic Gamma Ray burst (GRB 130427A) yet observed with a peak $\gamma \mathrm{-ray}$ energy of $94\, \mathrm{GeV}$. Various sources ...
1
vote
2answers
104 views
What happens when a star undergoes gravitational collapse?
Immediately prior to becoming a supernova the core of some types of stars may suffer gravitational collapse.
What happens to any planets in orbit around the star at the instant the mass is fully ...
2
votes
2answers
156 views
How long does a supernova last?
Just what the title indicates.
Is a supernova over instantaneously? Or, does the (for want of a better word) explosion continue for a while? What is/are the order of timescales involved?
EDIT: ...
12
votes
3answers
97 views
If neutrinos travel faster than light, how much lead time would we have over detecting supernovas?
In light of the recent story that neutrinos travel faster than photons, I realize the news about this is sensationalistic and many tests still remain, but let's ASSUME neutrinos are eventually proven ...
2
votes
3answers
396 views
How much energy does a super nova generate?
For a scene in a SciFi book, I want to know: Is it possible to estimate how much energy per m² an object would receive that hides behind an in-system planet when the sun goes nova?
4
votes
1answer
19 views
Is there a method to estimate the atomic yield of a supernova of a given size?
Given a supernova with stellar mass $M$, is there a theoretical method to estimating the isotope yield? If so, what processes are taken into account, and how accurate can the estimate be? Would it be ...
