[venk]

oops...sorry, hit quote instead of modify.

[Mobius]

Don't worry, it happens

[starlord]

Shiva is much more complex than that: he'sx not depicted as a mindless destroyer, he's also associated to transformation, change, evolution. The fact that the shivan's are much more complex than "we are the bad buys and will destroy you all" is pretty much evocating this. As said, the shivans are perhaps destroying to protect, or even alter or create things. The question is what things?

[IceyJones]

we know, that a supernova is in most cases a trigger for a so called star burst-process, where dozends of new starsystems are formed in nearby gasclouds.....maybe they are looking for stars in good positions to start this process and blow them away ;-)

so they are not doing terraforming, but galaxyforming.....something like that....

[starlord]

Actually, do you know that stars more susceptible to form a nebula are sun-mass stars (in short, that will NOT go supernova) since they eject much more matter than energy?

Besides, I didn't talk about terraformation

[IceyJones]

of course....and thats the reason why the shivans do MAKE them go supernova.....as the natural blow up for a i.e. capella-sized star would be the planetary nebula-creation......

[starlord]

Yes, but still: in freespace, after a star goes boom, a nebula is created, which is not untirely true science-wise!

[IceyJones]

err.....also a supernova creates nebulas:



as the lupus nebula, which is assumed to be the nebula after gamma draconis:

[starlord]

Sorry: i mixed up a few things: i was referring to planetary nebulas. However yes, there's the crab also and several others.

Yet those nebulas are not as "big" as other planetary nebulas, as in a supernova a lot more matter is converted into energy (explosion), whereas a sun caliber star merely "ejects" it's matter, forming a white dwarf, which is the star's core.

[IceyJones]

of course they are, and even bigger, as the mass of a supernova-capable star is MUCH higher.....even the core of a supernova-star is much more heavy than the sun....

but you are right in case of a shivan propelled supernova.....