Supernova

For other uses, see Supernova (disambiguation).

"Without precise calculations, we'd fly right through a star, bounce too close to a supernova, and that'd end your trip real quick, wouldn't it?"

―Han Solo, to Luke Skywalker^[src]

A supernova occurred when a giant star ceased to fuse light elements into heavier elemental products. The loss of internal heating allowed the star to collapse onto itself to form a neutron star or a black hole. Supernova could happen naturally or be induced by a superweapon.

Many systems had been destroyed or rendered uninhabitable after their suns exploded. A supernova had also killed life in neighboring systems, and thus interstellar evacuations had been necessary many times in galactic history. In a placid spiral galaxy as large as the extent of the Galactic Empire, approximately three supernovae occurred every century.^[source?] Nonetheless, gas and dust within the plane of the galactic disk could limit a supernova's visibility to a few thousand light years.

If a star was massive enough to perish in a supernova explosion, it produced, in its final stages of nuclear fusion, large amounts of heavy elements in its core. The supernova then scattered these elements into the surrounding nebulae.

Known supernovae in the galaxy

The supernova in the Kashi system, becoming the Orixon Nebula
The supernova of Din in 5000 BBY that created the Din Pulsar in the Moddell sector
The supernova created by Primus Goluud
The supernova created by Denarii
The artificial destruction of the Cron Cluster, caused by the Sith superweapon on the Corsair
The supernova that became the Utegetu Nebula
The supernova created by Demophon
The artificial destruction of Caridan, caused by the Sun Crusher
The quintuple supernova in the Cauldron Nebula, caused by the Sun Crusher
The artificial destruction of TD-10036-EM-1271, caused by the Centerpoint Station
The artificial destruction of Thanta Zilbra, caused by the Centerpoint Station