Big stars sometimes just vanish in a second.

[Pippy]

Rather than a super nova shedding its outer regions out into a lovely colourful pattern in the sky, it sometimes appears that the central black hole created at the moment of explosion pulls the entire mass / energy of the star / super nova into itself. Which means one second their's a massive star, the next it's gone, no sign (from our point of view) it ever was there in the first place.

"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5Q2WoldNyo"

 

[jetstream]

Are you an amateur astronomer and do you observe? I find seeing super novas fascinating to watch, the ones that are visible of course. The last one observed was SN 2014J in M82...what a sight!

Interesting link.

[Macavity]

Didn't know all of that. Whenever there's a rule, or limit,
exceptions (ever greater solar masses) to be found? 
 

 

 

[ollypenrice]

New to me too. Homework time...

Olly

[ollypenrice]

Mods, this thread might attract the expert astrophysicists if it went in to the Physics/Science section. I'd certainly like to hear our small team of expert contibuters on this.

Olly

 

 

[Moonshane]

Done 

[ollypenrice]

Ooops, embarrassing silence!!!

Olly

[andrew s]

Not sure of the current situation but in a review in 2004 of "Stellar Collapse" by C L Fryer the big problem in simulating SN was getting them to explode and not just collapse into themselves. The hope was that with better full 3D simulations and including all the possible relevant physics they would go pop rather than fail. I would conclude from this that it is at least a possibility.

However, if we could find one in our galaxy it might be possible to test if Hawkin radiation exists or not.

Regards Andrew

[DaveS]

Well stars rotate, so the black hole will be rotating too, and much faster than the original star. So we have an acretion disk, and hence probably two polar jets.

In other words, a Gamma Ray Burst.

Just me thinking out loud.

[andrew s]

2 minutes ago, DaveS said:

Well stars rotate, so the black hole will be rotating too, and much faster than the original star

That seems correct to me.

2 minutes ago, DaveS said:

So we have an acretion disk, and hence probably two polar jets.

In other words, a Gamma Ray Burst.

Don't think this follows as a matter of course from the first statement. It may well be that the inward curvature of space time is just too strong for material to form a disk during the collapse even though it would be highly non-spherical.  

Regards Andrew