But because incredible temperatures were required to keep the fusion going, at some point, even the gradually collapsing core could not generate enough heat to keep the star alive. In a matter of seconds, the core would collapse to a fraction of its size, with the very atoms being destroyed, forming a neutron star. With this incredible effect, a massive shock wave was released, heating the star to a monstrous temperature, hundreds of billions of degrees centigrade. This heat caused the fusion to start again, melting the atoms to form the heaviest elements in the universe. At that point, the star would blow up in a titanic explosion known as a supernova. These supernovae could shine as brightly as a million stars, and if the star was large enough, it would form a hypernova, the biggest expl