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Supernova
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== Etymology == The word ''supernova'' has the [[plural]] form ''supernovae'' ({{IPAc-en|-|v|iΛ}}) or ''supernovas'' and is often abbreviated as SN or SNe. It is derived from the [[Latin language|Latin]] word {{lang|la|[[nova]]}}, meaning {{gloss|new}}, which refers to what appears to be a temporary new bright star. Adding the prefix "super-" distinguishes supernovae from ordinary novae, which are far less luminous. The word ''supernova'' was coined by [[Walter Baade]] and [[Fritz Zwicky]], who began using it in astrophysics lectures in 1931.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Zwicky |first=Fritz |date=1 January 1940 |title=Types of Novae |url=https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/RevModPhys.12.66 |journal=Reviews of Modern Physics |language=en |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=66β85 |bibcode=1940RvMP...12...66Z |doi=10.1103/RevModPhys.12.66 |issn=0034-6861}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Osterbrock |first=D. E. |date=2001-12-01 |title=Who Really Coined the Word Supernova? Who First Predicted Neutron Stars? |journal=American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts |url=https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2001AAS...199.1501O |volume=199 |pages=15.01|bibcode=2001AAS...199.1501O }}</ref> Its first use in a journal article came the following year in a publication by [[Knut Lundmark]], who may have coined it independently.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite OED|supernova|id=194435}}</ref>
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