Supernovae

A supernova is a stellar explosion. They are really, really bright bursts of radiation, and can even outshine galaxies. The explosion expels most (or even all) of the star's material at a velocity of up to 30,000 kilometers a second! 'Nova' means 'new' in Latin, because when it explodes it looks like a really bright new star from Earth. The earliest recorded supernova was viewed by Chinese astronomers way back in 185 A.D. Supernovae occur about once every 50 years in the Milky Way galaxy.

That bright spot off to the side is a supernova.