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This diagram illustrates the pair-instability process that astronomers think triggered the explosion in SN 2006gy. A sufficiently massive star can produce gamma rays of such high energy that some of the photons convert into pairs of electrons and positrons causing a runaway reaction which destroys the star.
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SN2006gy (top right) in infrared
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SN2006gy (top right) in ultraviolet
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NASA artist's impression of the explosion of SN 2006gy