Supernovas (star explosions)When people look at the sky at night, they will likely see bright, twinkling stars. These stars might appear peaceful and innocent from Earth, but in reality they are the opposite. Stars are one of the brightest and hottest objects the human race has ever found. They are known to be one of the most destructive objects in the universe. Interestingly, they reach their most destructive stage when they are close to death. (Supernova-Stellar Explosion). When a star dies it is called a supernova. “Supernovae can be so bright that they illuminate entire galaxies” (Thompson). “The last known visible supernova was on October 6, 1604. It was discovered by a German astronomer named Johannes Kepler. Since then there have been no other supernova locations in our galaxies” (Britt). Supernovae are extremely rare in our galaxy, but there are stars in our galaxy that have the potential to explode at any time (Britt). The closest star to the earth is the sun. The sun is the largest object in the Milky Way. The sun is also one of the smallest stars in the galaxy. Even though the sun has existed for billions of years, scientists believe it does not have the potential to explode for another billion years. Looking at the sun it might seem extremely hot, but Ridout 2 is actually one of the coolest stars. Stars are classified in heat based on the color they emit. If a star emits a blue color it means it is extremely hot. If it gives off a red-orange color, like the sun, it means it is moderately hot. When a star emits a red color it means that it is the coldest type of star (Challoner). The reason these stellar explosions occur is because a star has reached its...... middle of paper... ything and everything around it. Everyone should be grateful to the stars. They are the reason for everything Ridout 5 you see in the galaxy and universe. People should also appreciate the sun. If it were not for the sun, life on earth would cease to exist. Works Cited Bergamini, David. The Universe. Canada. Time Life Books, 1970. Print.Britt, Robert Roy. “The Last Supernova: A 400-Year Explosion.” m.space.com. October 6, 2004. Web.Brown, Lancaster Peter. Color astronomy. New York: MacMillan, 1978. Print.Challoner, Jack.The Space Atlas. Brookfield, Connecticut: Aladdin Books Ltd. 2001.Print.imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov. Supernovae, NASA, 1997. 7 February 2011. Web.Supernova - Stellar explosion. Director Papadopoulos. Discovery. YouTube. Web.Thompson, Andrea. “What is a Supernova?” May 4, 2009. Web.Villanueva, Carl John. “What is a Nebula?” March 30, 2010. Web