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==Type II==
==Type II==
A type II supernova is a violent, stellar event involving a massive [[star]] of at least eight solar masses at the end of its life, when it's unable to maintain itself anymore through nuclear [[fusion]], causing a chain reaction that leads to the collapse of the star's core, and subsequent explosion. <ref>http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/304/5679/1915</ref>
A type II supernova is a violent stellar event involving a massive [[star]] of at least eight solar masses at the end of its life, when it's unable to maintain itself anymore through nuclear [[fusion]], causing a chain reaction that leads to the collapse of the star's core and subsequent explosion. <ref>http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/304/5679/1915</ref>
When a star converts most of its core hydrogen fuel to helium through thermonuclear [[fusion]], it evolves off of the main sequence. As the [[hydrogen]] fuel is exhausted, [[helium]] accumulates and the core begins to contract. As the core contracts, it heats up and the helium begins to fuse into [[carbon]] and [[oxygen]]. For stars with masses eight times or less than that of our [[Sun]], there is not enough mass to compress and heat up the core sufficiently to fuse elements heavier then helium, once all the helium fuel is used up. Such stars simply lose their outer atmospheres as [[planetary nebula]] and end their lives as [[white dwarf|white dwarfs]] that gradually cool over time.
When a star converts most of its core hydrogen fuel to helium through thermonuclear [[fusion]], it evolves off of the main sequence. As the [[hydrogen]] fuel is exhausted, [[helium]] accumulates and the core begins to contract. As the core contracts, it heats up and the helium begins to fuse into [[carbon]] and [[oxygen]]. For stars with masses eight times or less than that of our [[Sun]], there is not enough mass to compress and heat up the core sufficiently to fuse elements heavier then helium, once all the helium fuel is used up. Such stars simply lose their outer atmospheres as [[planetary nebula]] and end their lives as [[white dwarf|white dwarfs]] that gradually cool over time.