The great Flash from the explosion of a star occurs in this 3D animation, based on photometric observations made by NASA's Kepler space telescope. In animation we see a red supergiant star that is 500 times larger and 20.000 brighter than our Sun.

When inside the star can no longer sustain the nuclear fusion, the core of collapsing by gravity. A blast from the collapsing rushes outward through the layers of the star. The blast initially breaks the visible surface of the star with a series of plasma explosions. Only 20 minutes later, the full power of wstikoy wave reaches the surface and the star collapses to a supernova explosion.

By closely monitoring the star KSN 2011D located one,2 billion light years away, the Kepler telescope recorded the start of backfiring and the ensuing explosion.