Hypernovas are the deaths of massive stars and the formation of a black hole. They are larger than supernovas and are believed to be the origin of long gamma ray bursts. This violent explosion happens in a matter of seconds, but produces more energy in those seconds than the sun produces in its entire 9 billion year lifespan. Not a lot was known about hypernovas until 2003 when a massive gamma ray burst reached earth. This was identified as a hypernova and photographed. In 1999 remnants of a hypernova were found in pinwheel galaxy M101. These remains and the events in 2003 helped scientists to begin to understand what a hypernova is and what it does. During a supernova a large star tears off outer layers leaving a new, colder and smaller
