Contrary to giant stars, our sun is a relatively small star and will never undergo a supernova explosion. Supernova explosions can only happen in massive stars with the ability to burn subsequently heavier elements, creating the entire repertoire of elements up to iron in the process, before actually going supernova and creating the rest of the heavy elements in the periodic table.

[attach id=681573 size="medium" align="right"]The sun. Image taken by Leonard Ellul Mercer[/attach]

The sun, on the other hand, will never be able to burn fuel heavier than carbon, and when it reaches that stage, it will first expand to form a red giant before losing its outer layers, exposing the sun’s core – the remnant white dwarf. Our sun will therefore go out with a whimper, rather than with a bang, and this will not happen for another five billion years.