<p>Assume a planetary system similar to our own, but the central star being one with 8 solar masses, heavy enough to go supernova eventually.</p>
<p>Given such scenario: Saturn and Neptune and Uranus are huge, and over a billion miles away. The blast would take days to get to Neptune, becoming less dense the whole time.</p>
<p>Maybe their gaseous outer hydrogen layer would be blown off and leave big rocky planets in elliptical orbits?</p>
<p>I'm actually wondering about the feasibility of future humans hiding from a supernova behind Jupiter, but that's not probably an astronomy question</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-28T11:14:02.613Z
Minor point: Why "3-solar mass star"? The minimum mass for a core-collapse supernova is about 8 solar masses; a 3-solar-mass star will turn into a red giant and end up as a white dwarf.
Peter Erwin
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-28T11:20:54.080Z
I thought the limit for a BH was 2.4 solar masses, wich requires a supernova. Changed it to 8. TY!
Miss Understands
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2024-10-28T11:30:31.133Z
Are you expecting a star on the brink of going supernova to pass through the Solar System before the Sun becomes a white dwarf?
PM 2Ring
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-28T11:53:32.600Z
No, I'm thinking about a solar system much like ours, except it has a bigger sun in the middle.
Miss Understands
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-28T13:16:22.493Z
Ah, ok. I *suspect* that the gas giant's atmosphere would expand fairly explosively, which may cause problems for ships attempting to hide behind it. But I guess it would protect you from the direct radiation blast. I have some info on supernova energy in https://physics.stackexchange.com/a/455549/123208 which is vaguely relevant. ;)
PM 2Ring
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-28T15:35:13.540Z
@Miss_Understands Some of the star's initial mass is lost due to strong stellar winds during its lifetime; the majority of what's left is then blown away by the explosion, which is why the remnant mass (neutron star or black hole) is rather less than the initial mass.
Peter Erwin
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-28T15:42:54.113Z
A partial answer [here](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/a/19002/26205), though this focuses on the effect of photons from the SN rather than the blast wave of expanding ejecta.
Peter Erwin
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-28T15:47:53.933Z
I'll note that the SF writer Poul Anderson had a 1977 novel (*Mirkheim*) with a plot element involving a super-jovian planet that survived the supernova of its star, with its remnant iron core plated by assorted exotic superheavy elements created in the supernova.
Peter Erwin
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-29T14:19:34.740Z
related https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/27607/what-happens-when-a-star-gets-hit-by-a-supernova https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/25895/is-a-supernova-powerful-enough-to-destroy-the-other-star-in-a-binary-system
Mithoron
<planet><supernova>
Would the supernova of an 8-solar mass star blast any planets into asteroids or gravel or powder or atoms or what?
Miss Understands
# Would the supernova of an 8-solar mass star blast any planets into asteroids or gravel or powder or atoms or what?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-10-28)

Assume a planetary system similar to our own, but the central star being one with 8 solar masses, heavy enough to go supernova eventually.

Given such scenario: Saturn and Neptune and Uranus are huge, and over a billion miles away. The blast would take days to get to Neptune, becoming less dense the whole time.

Maybe their gaseous outer hydrogen layer would be blown off and leave big rocky planets in elliptical orbits?

I'm actually wondering about the feasibility of future humans hiding from a supernova behind Jupiter, but that's not probably an astronomy question

**Tags:** planet, supernova

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Minor point: Why "3-solar mass star"? The minimum mass for a core-collapse supernova is about 8 solar masses; a 3-solar-mass star will turn into a red giant and end up as a white dwarf.  
> **username_0**: I thought the limit for a BH was 2.4 solar masses, wich requires a supernova. Changed it to 8. TY!  
> **username_2**: Are you expecting a star on the brink of going supernova to pass through the Solar System before the Sun becomes a white dwarf?  
> **username_0**: No, I'm thinking about a solar system much like ours, except it has a bigger sun in the middle.  
> **username_2**: Ah, ok. I *suspect* that the gas giant's atmosphere would expand fairly explosively, which may cause problems for ships attempting to hide behind it. But I guess it would protect you from the direct radiation blast. I have some info on supernova energy in https://physics.stackexchange.com/a/455549/123208 which is vaguely relevant. ;)  
> **username_1**: @Miss_Understands Some of the star's initial mass is lost due to strong stellar winds during its lifetime; the majority of what's left is then blown away by the explosion, which is why the remnant mass (neutron star or black hole) is rather less than the initial mass.  
> **username_1**: A partial answer [here](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/a/19002/26205), though this focuses on the effect of photons from the SN rather than the blast wave of expanding ejecta.  
> **username_1**: I'll note that the SF writer Poul Anderson had a 1977 novel (*Mirkheim*) with a plot element involving a super-jovian planet that survived the supernova of its star, with its remnant iron core plated by assorted exotic superheavy elements created in the supernova.  
> **username_3**: related https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/27607/what-happens-when-a-star-gets-hit-by-a-supernova https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/25895/is-a-supernova-powerful-enough-to-destroy-the-other-star-in-a-binary-system  

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