Re: novae and supernovae

On Sun, 25 Sep 2005 14:27:01 +0000 (UTC), Christina Wilson <fmlyhntr@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I too had not heard of a white dwarf being involved...but.

> I went to the New York Public Library Science Desk Reference--they
> didn't have much, but here is their definition of nova and supernova.

> As seen from the Earth, a nova is a star that suddenly increases in
> brightness, then declines gradually over a short period. Novas are
> USUALLY associated with binary star systems in which one member is a
> white dwarf, with material from the companion star interacting with the
> white dwarf, creating a flare reaction.

Exactly. These novae "require" another star because they have to get that
extra material somewhere, and a companion star is the only object that
can have that much material. Planets, for example, won't do.

> (I learned something--this is always a good thing. <G>)

> A gigantic explosion in which a massive star undergoes gravitational
> collapse and ejects its outer layers into space is a supernova. This is
> accompanied by an immense outburst of light and charged particles, with
> the core collapsing to form a neutron star (or possibly a black hole).

....Which makes the Sun's explosion more like a supernova than a nova.
What's the difference? Who cares whether it was a nova or supernova, or
something else? Well, knowing what kind of explosion it was, would give us
more information about what happened, and how it happened. Watching the
episode and the commentary, I guess the story required the sun to go
"boom" artificially, and the use of the term "nova" was a bit loose. They
are probably not going to be speaking English in a million years, either.

--
20050925 1136
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