Class Research

Nova- A nova is a nuclear explosion on a white dwarf that results in the brightening of a star, sometimes confused with supernova or luminous red nova. Nova occur on the surfaces of white dwarfs in the binary system, when two stars are very close to one another and material can be pulled off one star onto the white dwarf.

Recurring Nova- A recurrent nova is a nova that has been observed to have multiple explosions. In the case of recurrent nova and classical nova, a shell ejected matter can be detected, while dwarf nova don’t exhibit this behavior. There are two types of recurrent nova: one type is an evolved secondary star which has lost most of its outer layers and is transferring onto a hot, massive white dwarf; the second type is a red giant secondary star and a white dwarf. This burst occurs inside the outer layers of the red giant and is caused by a thermonuclear runaway on the white dwarf, using material from the secondary star as fuel.

Supernova- A supernova is a stellar explosion that radiates as much energy as the Sun or any ordinary star is expected to emit over its entire life span, after several months or weeks it fades from view. This burst expels all of the stars material at a velocity of up to 30,000 km/s (10% the speed of light), and drives a shockwave into the surrounding interstellar medium. This shock wave sweeps up an expanding shell of gas and dust called a supernova remnant.

• ·         TYPE I- The type I supernova are subdivided on the basis of their spectra, with type 1a that shows an ionized silicon absorption line. Type I supernova without this strong line are classified as type 1b and 1c, with type 1c showing neutral helium lines and type 1c lacking them.