Why do supernovae occur?
Show answer & explanation
Answer: Massive stars collapse explosively
Black holes tear stars apart — Wrong. Black holes can disrupt stars (tidal disruption), but supernovae are stellar collapse or thermonuclear explosions, not black hole events.
Nuclear fuel ignites all at once — Wrong. Fuel doesn't ignite all at once. Type Ia: white dwarf reaches mass limit, exploding. Type II: massive star core collapses, rebounds violently.
Massive stars collapse explosively ✓ — Correct! Two main types: (1) Type Ia—white dwarf accretes mass from companion, exceeds Chandrasekhar limit (~1.4 solar masses), explodes thermonuclearly. (2) Type II—massive star (>8 solar masses) exhausts fusion fuel, core collapses to neutron star/black hole in <1 second, outer layers rebound—explosion! Brighter than entire galaxies briefly. Create heavy elements!
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