Why are supernova important?

Answer 1

supernovae provide events of known intrinsic luminosity ("standard candles") that can be used for distance measurement to, for instance, nearby galaxies they can also be used to determine when other stars will have a supernova. They are also the death of a star and the birth of a black hole.

Answer 2

According to the big bang theory [See Link - Big Bang] only the elements hydrogen, helium and a small amount of lithium were created. Around 400 million years after the big bang, the first stars were born. Classified as population III stars [See Link - Metallicity ] (Although non have been observed and their creation is still a theory) these stars were supermassive, much larger than any star that can be formed today. These stars created the first 26 elements up to iron via nucleosynthesis. [See Link - nucleosynthesis] Because of their high mass, these stars exhausted their fuel supply in about one million years and perished in enormous supernovae. These explosions would have dispersed the material, ejecting those elements throughout the universe. These ejections enabled the creation of population II stars, which were born out of the materials left by the death of the first generation. These are the oldest observed stars, and have a very low metal content. As future generations of stars were born and died they became more metal enriched, as the gaseous clouds from which they formed, received the metal-rich dust manufactured by previous generations. As each successive generation of stars used these elements, new elements were formed in supernova explosions. Every element heavier than iron, was produced in a supernova. This includes gold.

The different abundances of elements in the material that forms a star have important influences on the star's life, and may decisively influence the possibility of having planets orbiting it. [See Link - Metallicity] Supernova production of heavy elements over astronomic periods of time ultimately made the chemistry of life on Earth possible. Supernova explosions can also assist in the creation of new stars in stellar nurseries, acting as a trigger, sending shocked matter into the molecular cloud at very high speeds. [See Link - Star Formation]

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Well, theoretically, we are the end products of a massive supernova. So in other words, if another massive supernova took place, it could create life. There are also other results but this is the main one.

Answer 3

They are not necessarily important for planetary formation - directly, but they are important for the formation of solar systems and stars.

When a molecular cloud exists, it will without any external intervention, stay as a molecular cloud.

A supernova explosion nearby, gives the molecular cloud impetus and this starts the process of stellar evolution. [See related question]

See other related questions.

Answer 4

Supernova are important to us because it is an ending to a star and a begining to a black hole. Supernovas are indeed very easily in our life and in our lifetime important and crucial. They only provide all the items essential for the formation of stars and planets, and had it not been for a supernove, the sun itself would not have been formed.

Answer 5

All elements heavier than iron are produced in supernovas. Many of these elements play important roles in life on Earth.