Supernovae in fiction

In works of fiction, supernovae are often used as plot devices.

*In the "Star Trek" universe, trilithium-based weapons can cause stars to go supernova by inhibiting their fusion processes. [cite book
first=Michael | last=Okuda | year=1999
coauthors=Okuda, Denise; Drexler, Doug; Mirek, Debbie
title=The Star Trek Encyclopedia: A Reference Guide to the Future
publisher=Pocket Books | isbn=0671034758 ]
*In the "Star Wars" universe, the Sun Crusher can cause stars to go supernova with its resonance torpedoes. [cite book
first=Bill | last=Slavicsek | year=2000
title=A Guide to the Star Wars Universe
publisher=Ballantine Publishing Group
isbn=0345420667 ] In addition, Centerpoint Station can cause Supernovae.
*In the Superman films, the planet Krypton is destroyed by its sun Rao going supernova.Fact|date=May 2008
*In the "Justice League" episode "Eclipsed", some League members, under mind control, steal an anti-fusion device, intending to make the Sun go supernova.
*In the 2000 film "Supernova", the crew of the "Nightingale" is threatened by a blue giant that can explode at any moment; [cite web
last=van Gelder | first=Lawrence | date=
url=http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/181536/Supernova/overview
title=Supernova (2000) | publisher=The New York Times
accessdate=2008-05-02 ] the star is later destroyed, but by a 9th-dimensional bomb rather than a supernova.
*The 2005 film "Supernova" deals with the possibility of the Sun exploding. [cite web
last=Southern | first=Nathan
title=Supernova (2005) | publisher=The New York Times
url=http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/339506/Supernova/overview
accessdate=2008-05-02 ]
*The "Futurama" episode "Roswell That Ends Well" involves the main characters being sent back in time after radiation from a nearby supernova interacts with radiation produced by metal being heated in the ship's microwave. [cite web
url=http://www.tv.com/futurama/roswell-that-ends-well/episode/100702/summary.html
title=Roswell That Ends Well
publisher=TV.com | accessdate=2008-05-02 ]
*The Algae Planet in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica series is destroyed by its star going nova. [cite book
first=Tiffany | last=Potter
coauthors=Marshall, C. W. | year=2008
title=Cylons in America: Critical Studies in Battlestar Galactica
publisher=Continuum | isbn=0826428487 ]
*In the PC-game FreeSpace 2, the crucial Battle of Capella ends in the explosion of the star in a supernova.
*In Antonella Gambotto-Burke's novel The Pure Weight of the Heart, Angelica, the protagonist, gets stoned with William Grieve, the famous novelist, and says: “The first known galactic supernovae were seen in - were seen in Lupus in 1006. And . . . then . . . in, um . . . in 1054 in Taurus . . . and then in . . . was it 1572 or 1575? One or the other. At any rate, they were observed in Cassiopeia. And then . . . then . . . um, then . . . did I mention Taurus? I did? Excellent. But there were more. More Supernovae. More supernovae in Serpens. Fifteenth century. Which is interesting. I think so, don’t you? Because I do. Think so. Supernovae in Serpens. Supernovae everywhere.” Grieve narrows his eyes and replies: “No supernovae in here.” As Angelica is an astrophysicist, there are mentions of supernovae throughout the book. [The Pure Weight of the Heart, Orion Publishing, London, 1999]
* On "" several stars had exploded at one time. It later turned out that this was caused by the Q (Star Trek) Civil War.
*In the Stargate SG-1 season four closer "Exodus" the team, working with the Tok'ra, force a star to go nova. They do this by dialing the Stargate to P3W-451, a planet close to a black hole, and sending the gate into the star, protected by a force feild. When the Stargate entered the star in question, the sheild collapsed, and a good deal of stellar matter was sucked through the gate, disrupting the star and forcing it to nova. The Supernova affected the hyperspace windows of escaping ships in such a way that they were accelerated out of control, and emerged millions of light-years away.

See also

*List of supernova weapons in science fiction

References