Where do supernovae come from?

(PhysOrg.com) -- Supernovae, the explosive deaths of massive stars, are among the most momentous events in the cosmos because they disburse into space all of the chemical elements that were produced inside their progenitor stars, elements essential for making planets and life. One class of supernovae (type Ia) provide yet another benefit: they are thought to be "standard distance candles," and are used by astronomers to estimate the distances to remote galaxies whose supernovae appear faint because they are far away; thus they can calibrate the cosmic distance scale.

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