Thread: Space debris

If a star goes super nova, there is, no doubt, a plethora of energy that is expelled. My question is, is there likely to be matter expelled from the explosion? Is it possible (I know extremely unlikely) that we could encounter a chunk of asteroid, traveling at high velocity, as remnants of a distant super nova?

Originally Posted by keeseguy

If a star goes super nova, there is, no doubt, a plethora of energy that is expelled. My question is, is there likely to be matter expelled from the explosion? Is it possible (I know extremely unlikely) that we could encounter a chunk of asteroid, traveling at high velocity, as remnants of a distant super nova?

Assuming you are referring to a Type II (core collapse) supernova (1), which results in a neutron star or black hole, the matter expelled from the collapse is mostly "atomized", or consists of subatomic particles. A lot of nucleosynthesis goes on in the brief period of the collapse as a result of the extreme temperatures and pressures, so it seems rather unlikely that large "chunks" would fly out.

It is likely that atoms (for the most part) are the largest "pieces" to be observed as direct SN ejecta. But traces of larger micro-particulates derived from SNs have apparently been found (2, 3), although it is not clear as to when these "grains" formed.

It remains possible however that the shock wave from one of these blasts could encounter an asteroid that is distant enough from the SN that it is not "atomized", and might be substantially accelerated. Doing a search on this only leads to elements from supernovas found in meteorites, which is expected (4).

So, one can not rule out that some peripheral "rocks" are accelerated from the shock wave, although these would not be true "remnants" of the SN.


1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_II_supernova


2. https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/1/eaao1054


3. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100913164019.htm


4. https://www.space.com/41711-meteorit...xplosions.html