How Do Stars Explode? The Stellar Explosions #shorts #space #stars #stellar #supernova

Look up at the night sky, and you'll see stars twinkling in the distance, like little gems scattered across space. But did you know that some of these stars, despite their serene appearance, actually go out with a bang? These amazing events are called stellar explosions. Smaller stars, like our Sun, will eventually run out of hydrogen fuel. When that happens, the core of the star gets smaller and hotter, making the outer layers puff up. This is when the star becomes a red giant. Bigger stars, burn their fuel much faster and become red supergiants, super bright and massive. For these massive stars, things get really intense when they start fusing elements up to iron in their cores. Unlike earlier reactions that released energy, iron fusion soaks up energy. The energy that had been balancing gravity suddenly disappears. In a fraction of a second, the core collapses under its own weight, creating a shockwave that races outward. This shockwave is what we call a supernova—a super explosion that blasts the star's outer layers into space at crazy speeds.