Skip to main content

Destruction Monsters - Hypernova

hypernova (sometimes called a collapsar) is a very energetic supernova thought to result from an extreme core-collapse scenario. In this case, a massive star (>30 solar masses) collapses to form a rotating black hole emitting twin energetic jets and surrounded by an accretion disk . It is a type of stellar explosion that ejects material with an unusually high kinetic energy , an order of magnitude higher than most supernovae, with a luminosity at least 10 times greater. They usually appear similar to a type Ic supernova , but with unusually broad spectral lines indicating an extremely high expansion velocity. Hypernovae are one of the mechanisms for producing long gamma ray bursts(GRB's), which range from 2 seconds to over a minute in duration. They have also been referred to as superluminous supernova, though that classification also includes other types of extremely luminous stellar explosions that have different origins. 


The term hypernova was used to describe a theoretical type of supernova now known as a pair-instability supernova. It referred to the extremely high energy of the explosion compared to typical core collapse supernova. The term had previously been used to describe hypothetical explosions from diverse events such as hyperstars, extremely massive population III stars in the early universe, or from events such as black hole mergers.

  
                           ESO image of hypernova SN 1998bw in a spiral arm of galaxy ESO 184-G82

Hypernovae are now widely accepted to be supernovae with ejecta having a kinetic energy larger than about 1045 joule, an order of magnitude higher than a typical core collapse supernova. The ejected nickel masses are large and the ejection velocity up to 99% of the speed of light. These are typically of type Ic, and some are associated with long-duration gamma-ray bursts. The electromagetic energy released by these events varies from comparable to other type Ic supernova, to some of the most luminous supernovae known such as SN 1999as.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

5 Mind blowing science fact that you didn't(might) know.

  1.The average human body carries ten times more bacterial cells than human cells All the bacteria living inside you could fill a half-gallon jug — there are 10 times more bacterial cells in your body than human cells , according to Carolyn Bohach, a microbiologist at the University of Idaho. Don’t worry, though: most of these bacteria are helpful. In fact, we couldn’t survive without them. 2.Grasshoppers have ears in their bellies Unlike humans, grasshoppers do not have ears on the side of their heads. Like the ears of people, the grasshopper sound detector is a thin membrane called a tympanum, or “eardrum”. In adults, the tympanum is covered and protected by the wings, and allows the grasshopper to hear the songs of its fellow grasshoppers. 3. There is enough DNA in the average person’s body to stretch from the sun to Pluto and back — 17 times There are about 37 trillion cells in the human body, so if you were to uncoil all of the DNA encased in each cell and place the molecule...

Let's move the solar system - Stellar Engine

Ever thought of if we made contact with other intelligent life form , how are we gonna meet them physically with all the humans on earth? Don't worry there is a solution , and it is "Stellar Engine". Now what is a stellar engine? Simply put it is a hypothetical megastructure which uses a star's energy to propel or move the star and as the star moves the other planets will also move due the gravity of the star. The concept of Stellar engine was first introduced by Badescu and Cathcart. There are three classes of stellar engines : 1.Class A - Shkadov thruster One of the simplest examples of a stellar engine is the Shkadov thruster, or a Class A stellar engine. Such an engine is a stellar propulsion system, consisting of an enormous mirror/light sail—actually a massive type of solar statite large enough to classify as a megastructure—which would balance gravitational attraction towards and radiation pressure away from the star. Since the radiation pressure of the star wo...

What are Antiparticles? Is there something that we should worry about?

  Simply put , antiparticles are the opposite of the subatomic particles but with different charge and different magnetic properties . For example the antiparticle of electron is a particle with same mass but different charge , in this case positive charge and it is commonly referred to as Positron.. While the electron has a negative electric charge, the positron has a positive electric charge, and is produced naturally in certain types of radioactive decay . The opposite is also true , the antiparticle of the positron is the electron. Particle–antiparticle pairs can annihilate each other, producing photons ; since the charges of the particle and antiparticle are opposite, total charge is conserved. For example, the positrons produced in natural radioactive decay quickly annihilate themselves with electrons, producing pairs of gamma rays . It is not possible to create an antiparticle without either destroying another particle of the same charge (as is for instance the case when an...