Supernova

Have you ever seen a balloon that is blown up too much and then pops? That's kind of like what happens when a supernova occurs in the sky. A supernova is a big explosion - one of the biggest explosions in the universe - that happens when a star "dies".

When a star gets older, it starts to run out of fuel, kind of like when your car runs out of gas. When a star "runs out of gas" it can't create energy anymore and it gets really, really hot. This heat causes the star's outer layer to expand and the star becomes a huge object called a red giant. Eventually, the star's core collapses, causing the outer layers to explode, and this is when the supernova happens - it's like the balloon popping.

The supernova is really, really bright and can be seen from very far away. Sometimes you can even see it during the day! And when it's all done exploding, it leaves behind a really pretty cloud of gas and dust. Scientists study supernovas to learn more about the universe and how it was formed.