Re: novae and supernovae

On Sun, 25 Sep 2005 18:38:46 +0000 (UTC), Mox Fulder
<alvaro@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>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.

Except, even *seeded*, the sun doesn't have nearly enough mass to go
supernova. Though, in the sense that it is not a binary, one could
(though a glass, darkly and probably three sheets to the wind) look at
it that way. <grin> But consider - the tinkering involved could very
easily been seeding it with mass...

--

Wes Struebing

I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America,
and to the republic which it established, one nation from many peoples,
promising liberty and justice for all.

.