High-mass stars violently blow apart in supernova explosions

• A high-mass star dies in a violent cataclysm in which its core collapses and most of its matter is ejected into space at high speeds

• The luminosity of the star increases suddenly by a factor of around 108 during this explosion, producing a supernova

• The matter ejected from the supernova, moving at supersonic speeds through interstellar gases and dust, glows as a nebula called a supernova remnant