Elements in a CCSN (n16.3-fid, clipped)

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Distribution of elements in the ejecta of a supernova explosion that occurs when a massive star collapses in on itself. A three-dimensional illustration shows the distribution of mass fractions for four key elements: nickel-56, silicon-28, oxygen-16, and helium-4. The model depicts these distributions just before the shockwave bursts out of the star's core, about 4400 seconds after the explosion begins. To gain insight into the inner workings of this complex process, some areas are selectively obscured from view. This model was developed as part of a more comprehensive study published in "Matter Mixing in Core-collapse Supernovae: Three-dimensional Simulations with Single Star and Binary Merger Progenitor Models for SN 1987A", which appeared in The Astrophysical Journal in 2020 (Vol. 888, id. 111).