A massive star reaches the end of its life when it has fused all of the elements in its core into iron. At this point nuclear fusion can no longer hold off gravity, and the core collapses. When the core reaches the density of an atomic nucleus, it abruptly stops, sending a shock wave out through the rest of the star. This explosion releases 10⁴⁶ Joules of energy, briefly outshining an entire galaxy of 10 billion stars. This dramatic end to the life of a massive star was witnessed by astronomers in February of 1987.

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