What are the different types of Supernova?
The taxonomy of supernovae is quite complicated. Astronomers use observational criteria, not theoretical criteria, to type supernovae. Type 1 supernovae do not have hydrogen lines in their spectra1, but Type II do. Each Type is broken down into further subclasses, depending on their light curves (Figure 1), progenitors and location – Type I into Types 1a, 1b and 1c, and Type II into Types IIL and IIP (Cappellaro & Turatto 2000). As with most other classifications, there are exceptions. The spectra and/or light curves of a few supernovae differ sufficiently from the standard types to lead astronomers to suggest several new subclasses (Panagia et al. 1986; van Dyk et al. 1993; Baron et al. 1995, Benetti et al. 1998; Lentz et al. 2000; Filippenko 2000; Li et al. 2000; Howell 2000).
