Astrophysics / Physics / Science And Math

Type 1a: The Other Type of Supernova

Supernova 1994D

When people hear “supernova” they usually think of a star that runs out of fuel. Without the engine of nuclear fusion to heat it, the star collapses under its own weight, which triggers a huge explosion. This is a “core-collapse supernova,” one of the most energetic events in the universe. The result is usually a neutron star or a black hole. However, there’s another type of supernova, one in which a star whose nuclear fires long ago petered out is reignited, causing a catastrophic explosion. This is the type Ia supernova. We start our story with the type of

Astrophysics / Geometry / Mathematics / etc.

Speculative Sunday: Can a Black Hole Explode?

Cassiopeia A Spitzer Image

Nothing can escape the gravitational pull of a black hole, not even light. That’s why they’re, well, black. (Of course, as I’ve described before, black holes can glow very brightly, thanks to all the in-falling matter. Sometimes they even produce gamma rays. I’m also ignoring the negligible amount of Hawking radiation that black holes theoretically produce.) Once you pass the event horizon of a black hole, you cannot ever escape. Escape is simply forbidden by the laws of physics. That is, of course…if there actually is an event horizon, not just something that looks like one. Carlo Rovelli ,