A giant star's death is very explosive 💥 This animation captures the final, dramatic moments of a massive star undergoing a core-collapse supernova – one of the most powerful explosions in the universe. A star will spend its entire lifetime fusing lighter elements into heavier ones, producing energy in a process called nuclear fusion. But when it reaches iron, fusion no longer generates energy—it consumes it. With no energy left to support its own weight, gravity takes over, and the core collap

• Massive Stars • Engines of Creation - From Red Giant to Supernova: The Evolutionary Path of High Mass Stars 1.9.2020 VIDEO: This illustration demonstrates how a massive star fuses heavier and heavier elements until exploding as a supernova and spreading those elements throughout space. Credits: NASA, ESA, and L. Hustak (STScI) • Once stars that are 5 times or more massive than our Sun reach the red giant phase, their core temperature increases as carbon atoms are formed from the fusion of heli