Supernova (event)

A supernova was one of the most dramatic occurrences in The Galaxy. It occurred when massive stars reached the end of their lives. When the fusion of hydrogen into helium stopped, the core would collapse. The heat generated allowed other elements to be created from the helium. The star would grown bigger and bigger, and using various resources to create heavier elements. But because incredible temperatures were required to keep the fusion going, at some point, even the gradually collapsing core could not generate enough heat to keep the star alive. In a matter of seconds, the core would collapse to a fraction of its size, with the very atoms being destroyed, forming a neutron star forming. With this incredible effect, a massive shockwave was released, heating the star to a monstrous temperature, hundreds of billions of degrees centigrade. This heat caused the fusion to start again, melting the atoms to form the heaviest elements in the universe. At that point, the star would blow up in a titanic explosion known as a supernova. These supernovae could shine as brightly as a million stars, and if the star was large enough, it would form a hypernova, the biggest explosion in the universe. The remains of a supernova could be neutron, electron and proton stars, and sometimes even black holes. Supernovae left a huge nebula behind, made of gold, mercury, platinum, and other heavy elements. Beings throughout the galaxy watched supernovae in wonder, and many of them travelled into deep space to mine the gold-rich nebulae left behind. Supernovae remmnant nebulae were considered the galactic gold rush, with many beings claiming they had seen entire plantets of pure gold.