= Supernova
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= Supernovae
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A <supernova> is an explosive stellar event whose expanding, heated ejecta can become extraordinarily luminous. Two major physical routes are <stellar core collapse> in an evolved massive <star> and thermonuclear disruption of a <white dwarf>. The observed spectral category and the energy source are distinct: the absence of <hydrogen> lines alone does not prove a <Type Ia supernova>.
A <light curve> follows how deposited energy escapes as the ejecta expand, while <spectral lines> reveal composition and motion through their <Doppler shifts>. <SN 1987A> additionally supplied a <neutrino> signal that probes the deep collapse rather than only the radiating envelope. Supernovae connect <stellar evolution> to the production and dispersal of <chemical elements>, and calibrated <Type Ia supernovae> provide astronomical distance measurements.
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