ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Pair-instability supernova

Okay kiddo, let's talk about something really fascinating called Pair-Instability Supernova. So, do you know what a supernova is? It's like an explosion that happens in space when a star runs out of fuel and can't support itself anymore.

Now, normally when a star explodes, it leaves behind a small, dense object called a neutron star or a black hole, but in Pair-Instability Supernova, the explosion can be so powerful that it destroys the entire star leaving no remnants behind.

And you know what causes this big blast? It's because of something called pair-instability. So, in the core of a star, there are always lots of particles like protons, neutrons and electrons bouncing around, right?

Well, sometimes, these electrons and positrons (which are like the opposite of electrons) can come together and cancel each other out. When this happens, a lot of energy is released in the form of light. If this process happens very quickly and releases a lot of energy, it can create a huge explosion.

So, when a star is supermassive like around 150 times heavier than the sun, there are so many particles in its core that this process happens very rapidly, causing the entire star to explode in a Pair-Instability Supernova.

It's a really amazing and rare event, and scientists are still learning a lot about it. But now you know the basics, right?