When I was a kid, a supernova was the old blue car my dad drove around. What was so super about this Nova? The ever-surprising fact that it ran. Sometimes it sounded like a UFO, but it took a lickin' and kept on...well, sounding like a UFO. Although, I think I remember it ticking at times, too. Either way, the thing was built like a tank and we loved it. Incidently, (and I find this hysterical) did you know that the Chevy Nova didn't do too well in Latin countries when it came out? In Spanish, "No va" means, "it doesn't go." Isn't that great? Cracks me up every time I think about it! Yeah, I probably do need to watch a good comedy.
Whoops! It looks like I need to check out these legends a little more carefully. Apparently Snopes finds the "No Va" story false (http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp). Well, that's disappointing. You know I've gone over 20 years believing that story until now?
Anyway, recently, scientists were able to see a supernova (the celestial kind...an exploding star) actually starting to happen. You can read about it with your kids here: http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20080319/Note2.asp
The really cool thing about supernovas is how pretty they are. You can find a sampling of this here: http://chandra.harvard.edu/resources/ppt/chandra/by_category/snr.html?page=3
So, how do supernovas form? Find a kids' explanation here: http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/phonedrmarc/2003_november.shtml
And, in case anyone out there has a kid who is hopped up about cars, you can impart the history of the Chevy Nova via this site: http://novaresource.org/history.htm
