... SN 2005ap: The Brightest Supernova Yet Found . ... Specific colors emitted during SN 2005ap indicate that it was a Type II supernova , a breed of stellar explosion that results when a high mass star begins fusing heavy elements in or near its core. Type II supernovas may be more powerful than their Type Ia cousins , but they are not currently more useful because astronomers don't understand how to accurately recover their intrinsic brightnesses . ... Publications with keywords: supernova . ...