Stars more massive than 9 solar masses end their evolution in spectacular supernova explosions. These explosions are triggered by the gravitational collapse of the core of such massive stars, once the thermonuclear reactions are exhausted and the core is not supported against gravity by the pressure produced by the reactions. Supernovae are not simple spherical explosions, but rather complex phenomena
A supernova exploded on 1987 February 23rd in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. Being at a distance of “only” 170000 light years from us, this supernova, named SN 1987 A, is the closest supernova exploded in the modern era, and thus it is a template to understand the physics of supernova explosions and the
Gli shock sono onde d’urto che viaggiano a velocità supersonica e sono molto importanti in astrofisica perché vengono osservati su diverse scale spaziali ed in diversi contesti, dal nostro “piccolo” sistema solare, fino a scale extragalattiche e cosmologiche. Gli shock astrofisici differiscono da quelli osservabili sulla Terra perché si manifestano in condizioni estreme, non riproducibili sul nostro pianeta. Mentre nell’atmosfera
What remains after a supernova explosion, which is among the most energetic phenomena in the Universe, is an expanding cloud interacting with the surrounding interstellar medium (the “supernova remnants”) and a compact object produced by the contraction of the nucleus of the progenitor star. Given its proximity to the Sun (“only” 945 light years), the Vela supernova remnant is one
Supernova remnants, i.e. the remnant of supernovae explosions, are among the most interesting astronomical objects. In fact, they are not only produced by one of the most violent phenomenon occurring in the Universe (the explosion of a supernova from the collapse of the core of a massive star, i.e. a “core-collapse supernova”, which emits the same energy of 1033 atomic
