The Life of a Star: Type 1A Supernovae

What is a type 1A supernova? Find out on today's episode of Astro Minute!

What is Astro Minute?

Welcome to the Astro Minute! I'm Lauren Smyth, and with the help of astronomer and teacher Kelli Smyth, I'll be your tour guide as we explore the secrets of the night sky sixty seconds at a time.

Welcome to the Astro Minute, where we’re exploring the universe sixty seconds at a time. I’m Lauren Smyth, and today we’re looking at Type 1A supernovae.

When a star in a binary system dies and becomes a white dwarf, its strong gravity can accrete material from its companion and heat that material to a critical temperature, triggering a sudden thermonuclear explosion. If the binary system is two white dwarfs, they can merge, also triggering an explosion. When these scenarios cause the detonation and complete destruction of the white dwarf from the inside out, the resulting explosion is about five billion times more luminous than our sun, and is called a Type 1A supernova.

Several hundred extragalactic Type 1A supernovae are seen each year, but only occur in our galaxy once every few hundred years, the last one being seen in sixteen-oh-four.

I’m Lauren Smyth, and that’s your AstroMinute.