Dr. Mezzacappa explained that there are two types of supernovae. Type Ia supernovae are produced by a thermonuclear runaway. His group focuses on the latter. While these scientific wonders enjoy a lot of attention, only a handful of scientists concentrate on the big bang aspect. While a star can live for millions of years, it dies in a matter of hours.
Most stars begin their lives burning hydrogen to helium.
In large stars, the helium ashes compress until they start burning to carbon and oxygen, then to silicon and neon, and eventually to iron. The core splits into an inner core and an outer core. The center achieves supernuclear density, eventually becoming so dense it becomes incompressible. The pressure causes the inner core to rebound, launching a shock wave at the boundary between the inner and the outer core that blows the star apart. These explosions are important, Dr. Mezzacappa explained, because of their role in element synthesis and distribution.