Type Ia Supernovae

Dr. Tony Piro
California Institute of Technology

Darwin 103
4:00 PM

Dr. Tony Piro of the California Institute of Technology will discuss Type Ia supernaovae. A Type Ia supernova is a sub-category of cataclysmic variable stars that results from the violent explosion of a white dwarf star. A white dwarf is the remnant of a star that has completed its normal life cycle and has ceased nuclear fusion. However, white dwarfs of the common carbon-oxygen variety are capable of further fusion reactions that release a great deal of energy if their temperatures rise high enough. [Available on DVD in the SSU library.]