2015-04-22 BBC:星光七纪元-27（在线收听）

 The enigma of the white dwarf has been resolved. Scientists have discovered how the vast majority of the stars, including our own sun, would end their days, as the white dwarfs gently fading into the darkness of the universe. But not all stars go so quietly. For the most massive stars, something extraordinary happens. They make their exit with one last spectacular eruption. Sunpernovae, of explosive, dramatic death rows of the most massive star in the universe, explosion so bright and intense that they can briefly rival the output of 10 billion suns. They leave behind the traces the paintless sky with a rainbow of colors. Today we know that these spectacular events play a crucial role in creating a world around us. Yet it took us centuries to discover it. They are so rare that for hundreds of years no one saw any at all. So the first challenge was to find them.