Supernovae Supernovae by Josh Klimekby Josh Klimek

Image of SN1994D from http://www.321space.com/gallery_page.html?gallery=stars&image=opo9919i

Historical Observation of Supernovae

Most Recent Supernovae

•1054 the Crab Nebula•1572 observed by Tycho Brahe•1604 observed by Kepler•1987

Image from http://members.aol.com/Artstellar/nova.JPG

What is a Supernova?

Star life cycle image from - http://www.star.ucl.ac.uk/groups/hotstar/images/life_cycle.jpg

Why do supernovae occur?

Evolution of a 25 M☼ Star

Stage Duration

Hydrogen Fusion 7*10^6 yrs

Helium Fusion 7*10^5 yrs

Carbon Fusion 600 yrs

Neon Fusion 1 year

Oxygen Fusion 6 months

Silicon Fusion 1 day

Type IIType Ia

Table values from Universe 7e pg498Chandrasekhar limit http://www.physast.uga.edu

Two Types of Supernovae

Image from http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Sect20/3_32.gif

Further Differences Between the Two Types

•Absorption spectrums•Luminosity

How Powerful is a Supernova?

"The energy produced by a supernova is mind-boggling: 1044 joules. Is it the same as if each and every gram of the earth's mass was converted to a nuclear bomb 200 times more powerful than the one dropped on Hiroshima." - http://www.religioustolerance.org/ev_young3.htm

•Earth’s mass = 6x1024 kg•6x1024 kg = 6x1027 g•200 x 6x1027 = 1.2x1030 Hiroshima bombs

“The power produced by a supernova is “100 times more energy than our sun has emitted in its 4.56 billion year history.” (Freedman pg 499)

“The rate at which it emitted energy in the form of neutrinos—was 10 times greater than the total luminosity in electromagnetic radiation in all of the star in the observable universe! (Freedman pg 503)

SN2005A Data

•Type Ia – Supernova in a Binary System

•Amberstar A – M1 Ia, Red Supergiant 8.6 light years away from earth

• Apparent magnitude m= -8.6

•Amberstar B – Hot White Dwarf known as a supersoft x-ray source (+500,000K)

• White dwarf is not visible to the naked eye.

• SN2005A occurred at 10:00 PM on 1.1.2005

•apparent magnitude m= -22

•Apparent Magnitude of the sun

•m= -27.7

•Apparent magnitude of the Moon

•m=-12.7

Image from http://archive.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Cyberia/NumRel/Images/massxfer.gif

Location: Olympia Wa

Day Date Rise Conditions 10:00 PM Conditions Set Conditions Sun Rise Sun Set

1 1.1.05 8:45 PM ESE NIGHT 13° SE HORIZON NIGHT 5:50 AM WSW NIGHT 8:59 AM 5:31 PM

15 1.15.05 7:45 PM ESE NIGHT 19° SE HORIZON NIGHT 4:50 AM WSW NIGHT 8:54 AM 5:48 PM

30 1.30.05 6:45 PM ESE TWL 24° SSE HORIZON NIGHT 3:50 AM WSW NIGHT 8:40 AM 6:10 PM

40 2.9.05 6:00 PM ESE SUN 3° WSW HORIZON 26° SSE HORIZON NIGHT 3:15 AM WSW NIGHT 8:26 AM 6:26 PM

50 2.20.05 5:30 PM ESE SUN 11° WSW HORIZON 26° S HORIZON NIGHT 2:30 AM WSW NIGHT 8:08 AM 6:42 PM

59 3.1.05 4:45 PM ESE SUN 20° SW HORIZON 25° S HORIZON NIGHT 1:55 AM WSW NIGHT 7:52 AM 6:55 PM

74 3.15.05 3:45 PM ESE SUN 32° SW HORIZON 22° SSW HORIZON TWL 12:55 AM WSW NIGHT 7:25 AM 6:55 PM

Observational Data on Sirius (Amberstar)

Day Abs Magnitude Apparent Magnitude

1 -5.6 -8.5

1.04 -16.4 -19.3

15 -19.6 -22.5

30 -17.9 -20.8

40 -16.8 -19.7

50 -16.4 -19.3

59 -15.8 -18.7

74 -15.5 -18.4

100 -14.9 -17.8

150 -14 -16.9

250 -12.1 -15

Magnitude Trends vs Time, as Observed from Earth

-25

-20

-15

-10

-50 50 100 150 200 250 300

Days

Appa

rent

Mag

nitu

de

Apparent Magnitudes

•Sun = -27.72•Moon = -12.7•Venus = -4.4•Sirius = -1.5

How Bright Did it Get?

What would be the biological implication of a near earth supernova event?

Is it possible to predict the occurrence of a supernova?

What is Left Behind?

Further Questions?

Image from http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/~mc/images/Digital/Supernova.jpg