AS102 Study Guide - Quiz Guide: Solar Mass, Type Ia Supernova, White Dwarf
Document Summary
Eventually enough material is drawn over onto the white dwarf, increasing both its temperature and mass until it explodes in a nova. This process can be repeated several times, often at intervals within 50 years. Eventually, however, the white dwarf mass will reach the. Chandrasekhar limit and the final explosion will be a type. If you thought a white dwarf was dense (having a real low iq!!) you ain"t seen nothin" yet! A neutron star is more massive than the sun more than 1. 4 msun according to the chandrasekhar limit and yet is typically only 10 km in diameter, the size of a small city. Imagine a planet, 10 km in diameter, with a mass more than 1. 4 msun. The escape velocity of such a body is about half the speed of light (the escape speed for earth is 11. 2 km/sec).
