What's Behind the Blast of Supernova

The death of a star can sometimes be very explosive. One can see a series of blindingly bright bursts into view in the night sky when this happens. The brilliant point of light is the explosion of a star that has reached the end of its life, otherwise known as a supernova.

Supernovae can briefly outshine entire galaxies and radiate more energy than our sun will in its entire lifetime. They are considered "the largest explosion that takes place in space."

A star can go supernova either by sucking up mass from a nearby neighboring star until a runaway nuclear reaction ignites, or running out of its fusion fuel and collapses under its gravity.

Scientists have long suspected that neutrinos, the elusive, ghost-like particles, might be the trigger for supernovae's final big bang. But they have not been able to prove this hypothesis. 

With advances in computing power and three-dimensional simulation, astronomers believe that they are closing in on unraveling the complex physics behind the blasts.

Source: Nature Video via Youtube