Supernova Animations
Supernova explosion viewed by Kepler (credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech, Kepler Space Telescope)
CalTech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory developed animations of two supernovas observed by the Kepler Space Telescope.
The first is a white dwarf, the burned-out, dense remnant of a star, that can no longer consume its nuclear fuel. Its massive gravity, produced by its density, drew matter from a companion star before exploding in a supernova. When the white dwarf reached 1.4x the size of our Sun's mass, it couldn't sustain the weight, and exploded in a 'fast-evolving luminous transient' (FELT) event.
The second JPL animation shows a supernova created when two circling white dwarfs merged.
Either way, the stellar events would have been impressive to watch from a safe distance. The space telescope offers a safer alternative.
WHB