Supernova A supernova or nova was a powerful explosion that typically occurred upon the death of a massive star . When a massive star ran out of nuclear fuel , the star had no counteractive force against its own gravity and collapsed . The resulting shock wave blew the outer layers of the star into space , possibly leaving a core that became either a neutron star or a black hole , depending on the remaining mass . The resulting subspace shock waves could collapse a warp field . A different kind of supernova occurred ( more rarely in our Milky Way Galaxy ) when a white dwarf star in a tight binary system swallowed material from its companion , eventually becoming too massive and collapsing . ( ; ; ; ; ) When stars exploded , they emitted an electrical magnetic pulse . This pulse could cause electromagnetic devices , such as computer s , to fail . Its shock waves could pose a danger to starship s too close to them , and even collapse their warp field s . ( ; ) Supernovae , however , generally occurred only approximately once per century in the Milky Way Galaxy . Up until 2373 , only two Starfleet crew s had ever witnessed supernovae firsthand . That year , a third observation was made by , setting the record for the closest observation at less than 10 billion kilometer s . ( ) In the negative universe , a supernova was a dead star coming to life . ( ) History . A supernova which occurred 600 , 000 years ago , during the Age of Makto , was responsible for the fall of the Tkon Empire . ( ) The Fabrina solar system went nova some 10 , 000 years before the Earth year 2268 . ( ) In July 2151 , came within three light years of a J ' ral class supernova remnant , but did not break course to study it . ( ) During the first half of the 23rd century , a supernova occured near Doctari Alpha . As a child , Michael Burnham wanted to witness it rather than go on vacation to Mars , and convinced her parents to remain at the outpost . They were then killed during a Klingon attack three days later . ( ) In 2267 , Sulu , after being given a tranquilizer that removed his fear , claimed that " with a armful of this stuff , I wouldn ' t be afraid of a supernova . " ( ) In 2268 , the crew of the witnessed the supernova Minara . ( ) The next year , the " Enterprise " s crew observed the supernova Beta Niobe and the destruction of planet Sarpeidon . ( ) A chart in the command briefing for Operation Retrieve featured Frazee ' s Nova and Winter ' s Nova . ( ) In 2364 , a star in the Beta Magellan system exploded , resulting in main computer failure on Bynaus . ( ) In 2366 , the star Beta Stromgren exploded as a supernova . The last stages of the star ' s life were observed by the while making first contact with the creature Gomtuu . ( ) In 2373 , the Q Civil War caused hazardous repercussions throughout the Milky Way Galaxy , including " galactic crossfire " in the form of supernovas . At least three supernovae went off within three days in a single sector of the Delta Quadrant . It was explained to Chakotay , by , that " " each time a star implodes , a negative density false vacuum is created , which actually sucks the surrounding matter into the Continuum . " " The crew of " Voyager " , acting on information provided by the female Q , used the explosion of one of these supernovae to enter the Continuum themselves , in order to rescue Q and Captain Janeway . ( ) Several weeks later , in the Alpha Quadrant , posing as Doctor Julian Bashir attempted to trigger a supernova in the Bajoran sun using trilithium , tekasite , and protomatter . The Founder was stopped by Kira Nerys , Jadzia Dax , and the crew of the . ( ) When Janeway requested arithrazine from The Doctor in 2374 , he asked her if she was planning to " stroll through a supernova . " ( ) In 2375 , Janeway used studying a supernova remnant as an excuse for entering a restricted part of Devore space . ( ) In 2387 , a supernova threatened the galaxy . Ambassador Spock prepared an attempt stop the supernova by using red matter to create a black hole , which he hoped would consume the supernova . Before he could enact this plan , however , the supernova destroyed Romulus . Spock still used the red matter to stop the supernova after Romulus was gone , but this led to the creation of the alternate reality . In 2258 of the alternate reality , Spock used a Vulcan mind meld to demonstrate the supernova event to the alternate . ( )