From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsupernovasu‧per‧no‧va /ˌsuːpəˈnəʊvə $ -pərˈnoʊ-/ noun (plural supernovae or supernovas) [countable] HAa very large exploding star
Examples from the Corpus
supernova• Modern detectors which should be capable of detecting the gravitational waves from a supernova collapse in our Galaxy are described.• These are colossal outbursts: at its peak a supernova may become at least fifteen million times as luminous as the Sun.• Another theory suggests that a supernova explosion occurred, destroying the companion sun and scattering its material toward our Sun.• Scientists are concerned that a special event, such as a sunspot or supernova might occur during this long period of communications blackout.• So far, no one has found a possible candidate for the supernova that might have represented the Star of Bethlehem.• The faint-object camera has also been looking at the remnants of the supernova which excited astronomers in 1987.• Some of the supernova debris has recently been found in meteorites.• By distorting them, supernova explosions may lead to the shredding of otherwise stable clouds by the tidal field of the nucleus. 