Type Ia supernova

A stellar explosion powered by runaway thermonuclear burning in a white dwarf. Its spectrum lacks hydrogen and shows strong silicon absorption.

White dwarf: A compact stellar remnant supported against gravity by electron degeneracy pressure. The exploding star is a white dwarf whose carbon- and oxygen-rich material undergoes thermonuclear burning.
Supernova: A luminous stellar explosion that ejects material and briefly outshines its host galaxy. Type Ia events are one physically distinct class of supernova.
Standard candle: An astronomical object whose intrinsic brightness is known or can be estimated, enabling distance measurements. Corrected Type Ia luminosities can be compared with apparent brightness to estimate distances.
SN 1572: A supernova observed in 1572 by Tycho Brahe and other astronomers in the constellation Cassiopeia. Its remnant is classified as Type Ia, linking a historical naked-eye event to the modern class.
Type Ia supernova progenitor systems: The binary-star configurations that supply the white dwarf and conditions for a Type Ia explosion. Observations have not established which progenitor configurations produce most Type Ia events.
Thermonuclear runaway: A self-amplifying nuclear reaction in which heating accelerates energy release faster than a system can cool. In a Type Ia event, runaway fusion releases enough energy to disrupt the white dwarf.
Stellar spectroscopy: The study of astronomical objects through the wavelengths and patterns in their emitted or absorbed light. Spectral lines provide the observational criteria used to identify Type Ia events.
Phillips relation: An empirical relation between a Type Ia supernova’s peak luminosity and how quickly its light curve fades. It makes Type Ia luminosities more uniform after correcting for their decline rates.
SN 1006: A supernova observed in 1006 and recorded by observers across several regions of the world. Its remnant is identified as Type Ia and anchors studies of a nearby historical explosion.
Chandrasekhar mass: The approximate maximum mass of a nonrotating white dwarf supported by electron degeneracy pressure. Some explosions may occur near this limit, while others appear to involve lower-mass white dwarfs.

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