Observations of supernovae in other galaxies suggest they occur in the Milky Way on average about three times every century. The last supernova to be directly observed in the Milky Way was Kepler's Supernova in 1604, but the remnants of more recent supernovae have been found. The word supernova was coined by Walter Baade and Fritz Zwicky in 1929. Adding the prefix 'super-' distinguishes supernovae from ordinary novae, which are far less luminous. In Latin, nova means 'new', referring astronomically to what appears to be a temporary new bright star. Supernovae are more energetic than novae.

The peak optical luminosity of a supernova can be comparable to that of an entire galaxy before fading over several weeks or months.

The original object, called the progenitor, either collapses to a neutron star or black hole, or is completely destroyed. This transient astronomical event occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion. It has the plural form supernovae /- v iː/ or supernovas, and is abbreviated SN or SNe. SN 1994D (bright spot on the lower left), a type Ia supernova within its host galaxy, NGC 4526Ī supernova is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star.

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