supernova

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noun

ASTRONOMY

  1. a star that suddenly increases greatly in brightness because of a catastrophic explosion that ejects most of its mass.

Heavy elements are only produced in supernovae, so all of us carry the remnants of these distant explosions within our own bodies. Supernovae add enriching elements to space clouds of dust and gas, further interstellar diversity, and produce a shock wave that compresses clouds of gas to aid new star formation.