Type II supernova

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A Type II supernova or SNII (plural: supernovae) results from the violent explosion of a massive star following the rapid collapse of its core. A star's mass must be at least 8 times, but no more than 40 to 50 times, the mass of the Sun (M☉) to undergo this type of explosion. Type II supernovae are distinguished from other types of supernovae by the presence of hydrogen in their spectra. They are usually observed in the spiral arms of galaxies and in H II regions, but not in elliptical galaxies; those are generally composed of older, low-mass stars, with few of the young, very massive stars necessary to cause a supernova. Stars generate energy by the nuclear fusion of elements. Unlike the Sun, massive stars possess the mass needed to fuse elements that have an atomic mass greater than hydrogen and helium, albeit at increasingly higher temperatures and pressures, causing correspondingly shorter stellar life spans. The degeneracy pressure of electrons and the energy generated by these fusion...

Read on Wikipedia · Image NASA, ESA, P. Challis, and R. Kirshner (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), Public domain